Oooh, I think that I found myself a cheerleader
by ttamariindo
Summary: "All in all Seirin's squad was on the way to becoming a great team because cheerleading was all about big and flashy and attention and they had the potential to become just that. Then of course, Taiga met Kuroko. The blue haired little shit managed to throw every single one of Taiga's concepts about cheerleading out of the fucking window in the span of a single conversation."
1. Chapter 1

AN: I posted a drabble of this back in 2014, but me being me, I forgot the password for that account. Here's a complete rewrite of that.

Thanks to Nats for all the support. Please keep in mind that english is not my first language. All mistakes are mine.

* * *

Taiga was six years old when his father took him to his first football game.

Kagami Ichiro had come home early that day. It had been a particular slow Friday and he had managed to finish editing the last part of the merger his boss had asked of him before noon and, having nothing more to do, he had decided to head home early and spend the day with his wife and son. A luxury he often couldn't afford on a weekday.

He shut his computer off and grabbed his coat from the back of his chair, hoping to make a quick get away before any of his coworkers noticed his early departure. Just as he was about to enter the elevator, left foot already past the threshold, he heard his name being called- well butchered really, American pronunciation and Japanese names did _not_ mix well - and all hope of a swift escape was instantly crushed.

"Ichiro, hold the elevator, please!"

The man in question turned around and wondered if it was to late to press the button to close the elevator without the other man noticing. Apparently it was, because no later had he finished that thought, the brunet -he was almost sure it was the Head of the IT department- who's name he couldn't quite recall was already slipping past him and into the elevator.

"Thanks." The man said, smiling at Ichiro, "going home early, huh. Already done with work?"

"Yeah," was Ichiro's curt answer. He turned to look resolutely at the elevators doors and hoped that it was enough to deter the man from continue speaking.

"Good, good."

There was an awkward silence as they rode the elevator down although the other man appeared completely at ease, grinning at Ichiro and fidgeting with something in his pocket. The elevator dinged and the doors opened on the ground floor. Ichiro, who barely managed to contain his relieved sigh, was out of the doors as soon as they opened, hoping to escape the other man. He was not fast enough though, because the annoying brunet fell in step with him after a few seconds, laughing at him.

"What's got you in such a rush, man?" asked the man good-naturedly and Ichiro tried to keep his temper in check. Gritting his teeth, he answered, "just want to get home, really."

"Right, how's your wife? You've got a son too, right? How old?"

"She's fine, thank you. And yes, he's turning seven this August." A smile spread across his face just thinking about his family but it was soon replaced with a frown as he remembered just who was keeping him from getting to them faster.

"Ah, a bit younger than mine then. Paul just turned sixteen and he no longer wants to hang out with his old man, you know. Which, although bad for me, is gonna turn out good for you I think."

Arching a brow, Ichiro stared in befuddlement at the man standing next to him. The brunet just grinned at Ichiro's confusion and reached into his pocket, pulling out what appeared to be two tickets for something he couldn't discern and waving them at Ichiro's face.

"You see, I happen to have two tickets for next week's football game. I was planning on going with my son but he already has plans." The man's tone adopted a sarcastic tone at the end of his sentence and the look he shot Ichiro was something along the lines of _teenagers right?_

"So I thought, why not help another father out?" He grinned at Ichiro, expecting something from him, most likely, but Ichiro was at a lost. "Here you go, then." The man held his hand out with the two tickets; face expectant, just as Ichiro caught up the situation and immediately regretted every bad thought he had had about his coworker up until now.

"Really?" He said, voice a bit incredulous. They really didn't know each other that well. Hell, Ichiro couldn't even remember the other man's _name_ , but here he was, offering him what he could now see were fairly expensive football tickets.

The man shrugged his shoulders. "Well, yeah. It's not like I can go to the game alone, right? I mean, yeah I can, but it wouldn't be the same."

"I-Thank you, really thank you so much. These are- these are perfect." Ichiro stuttered. And it really _was_ perfect. He had wanted to spend a day with his son for quite some time now but work had been hectic and his time with Taiga had suffered for it. Now the both of them would be able to spend some quality time together.

"No problem, man. You gotta make the most of your time with your son before he grows up, you know. He'll leave you in the dust in a few years, trust me." The brunet laughed good-naturedly and winked at Ichiro like both of them were part of a secret joke. Ichiro just nodded and thanked the man one more time before pocketing the tickets.

"See you Monday then!" said the brunet, already walking past Ichiro to return to the elevator.

"See you." Ichiro called after him, smiling to himself.

A few minutes later, already in his car on his way home, Ichiro still couldn't wipe the smile off his face. This was perfect, thought the man as he turned on the engine. Ichiro had loved football as a kid; he had even been part of his university's team and now Taiga would get to see the sport first-hand. He was sure his son would to take football like a fish to water, the redheaded boy had more energy than he knew what to do with and he was already taller and stronger than most of his classmates. Ichiro would teach his son everything he needed to know about football and he and Taiga would bond over the sport. He could picture it all perfectly.

Yes, he was sure, Taiga was going to _love_ football.

Kagami Ichiro hadn't been more wrong about anything _in his life._

* * *

Ichiro found his son sitting in front of the TV in the living room, inhaling what was left of yesterdays lunch, eyes glued to the screen and completely entranced by whatever kids show he was watching. It took his father calling his name three times before Taiga noticed he was no longer alone.

"Dad!" with a shout Taiga shot up from his position on the living room floor, almost making both of them fall to the ground as Taiga tackled-hugged him.

"What are you doing here so early? I thought you worked late on Fridays. Did something happen? Is everything all right? I-"

"Breath, Taiga," his father cut him off, laying a hand on top of the six-year-old's mop of bright read hair and smiling down at his son in exasperated fondness. Taiga just grinned up at him, red eyes bright and wide; gap-tooth making the kid impossibly cuter than he already was.

"I finished work early and I wanted to spend the afternoon with you and your mom, kiddo. I know I haven't been around that much for the past month." Ichiro said, grimacing as he recalled all the late nights he had had to pull for work and how he couldn't even catch Taiga awake after he came home those night, his son already snoring softly in his bedroom when Ichiro went to kiss him goodnight.

"It's no problem dad! I have school now and friends I can hang out with and mom of course!" Taiga babbled as he led his father to sit on the couch in front of the TV.

"Speaking of your mom, shouldn't she be here by now?" Ichiro asked, having noticed Asami's lacking presence as soon as he stepped into the house.

"Yeah, she was but she said she had to go get something from the shop down the street and because I'm a big boy now I can stay here alone!" Taiga replied, childish pride pouring from every word and chest puffed out.

"Sure you can kiddo," said Ichiro ruffling his son's hair and getting an annoyed look in return. Just as Ichiro was about to reach for his back pocket were the tickets lay, the door opened and a voice called from the entranced.

"I'm home!"

"Mom!"

Like Taiga had done with Ichiro, he bowled over his mom. Asami just barely managed to avoid dropping the shopping bags as Taiga curled himself around his mother, much like an octopus would to it's prey.

"Look mom, dad's here! He came home early!" Taiga shouted excitedly. Asami's eyes widened in surprise and she tore her eyes from her son to look towards the living room, were Ichiro sat, watching the scene unfolding in front of him with clear fondness and affection in his eyes.

Ichiro stood and went over to his wife and son, taking the backs from Asami's hands and giving her a kiss in greeting, ignoring the _eeew, gross_ that came from their son at the action as Asami rolled her eyes fondly.

"How was work, love?" asked Asami as she went to the kitchen to unpack the back and start making dinner.

"Just fine. I finished early so I took the liberty of taking the afternoon off," answered Ichiro. Following her into the kitchen and settling himself beside the door to watch her and Taiga as they cooked, or well, tried to in Taiga's case.

Asami just hummed in reply but he could see by the quirk in her mouth that she was more than pleased. "Anyways, I have a surprise for you Taiga."

Taiga wiped around, the half-formed rice ball he had been trying to make forgotten as soon as the word surprise passed Ichiro's lips. Asami raised an eyebrow at Ichiro in question but he just winked in reply.

"Really?! What is it? Is it the bike I asked for? Or-or that video game? Everyone at school has it and I haven't even _played_ it yet and it's getting annoying dad I really-"

Chucking, Ichiro pulled the tickets from his back pocket, watching in amusement as Taiga's face fell.

"That's not a bike," said Taiga with a pout. "No, Taiga, it's not a bike," replied Ichiro patiently, "but I think you'll like it just as much."

Taiga's wary frown was all Ichiro needed to know that his son didn't really believe him. "Give it a chance Taiga, sweetheart. What have I always told?" said Asami in a kind but firm tone, hands on her hips and narrowed eyes looking at Taiga, who gulped after seeing the look his mother was giving him.

"Never judge a book by its title…?" answered the boy with obvious hesitance. Asami just quirked a smile and dropped a kiss on Taigas forehead.

"It's by its cover actually, but close enough." Ichiro, who couldn't wait any longer, cleared his throat to regain his son's attention. "These are tickets for a football game, Taiga."

Quicker than thought, Taiga snatched the ticket from his father's hand, eyes going wide with excitement.

"That's so cool dad! You're the best! I've always wanted to go to one. Football's the one were all the players are really tall right? The one where they jump super high and then they dump the orange ball through a hoop, that's it right? Right?"

"That's basketball Taiga," answered Ichiro, a tendril of despair leaking into his voice as Asami ringing laugh sounded through the kitchen

"No, dad, it's not."

* * *

Next Sunday afternoon found an overly exited Taiga pulling his father's hand all the way up the stadium stairs as fast as his little legs could carry him. Dogging flailing limbs and the eventual hot dog, Taiga fought his way through the teeming crowd till they found their seats. Heaving, Taiga and his father settled and began making themselves as comfortable as humanly possible on the unyielding plastic chairs of the stadium. They were close enough to the field to watch the players without the help of the big screens hanging all around the stadium. Still, Taiga couldn't keep his eyes off them- they were huge and flashy and well, kids _liked_ huge and flashy.

Years from now Taiga would always remember the atmosphere that settled over the stadium like a mantel, although the names of the teams that played that day would forever escape him. The excitement and anticipation was clear on every face and as soon as the match began the chants and songs that filled the field rushed through Taiga till he was brimming with emotion. The crowed screamed as one and Taiga joined them. He cheered for every goal made, no matter what team scored it, all while his father sat by his side, watching him with laughing eyes full of fondness.

Then came half time.

The football players where gone and in their stead there were skirts and pompoms and human pyramids. There were cartwheels and backflips and things that Taiga couldn't even name, nevertheless understand. There were voices singing, ablaze with joy and chants filled with pure, raw, _feeling._ Taiga had gone still in his awe, both hands gripping the railing till his knuckles turned white and his whole body tilted forward, red eyes wide and disbelieving, trying to take it all in. His heart had started pounding. Beating faster and faster _,_ trying to keep up with the rhythm that reverberated through the field and traveled through Taiga's feet and legs till it reached his heart until the redhead couldn't discern if what he heard was the beat of his heart or the beat of the bass. He gaped as he saw people flying, jaw dropping as three girls seemed to rise through the sky before twisting and turning so fast that Taiga lost track of them. He gawked as the people on the field danced as if they were one, stomping their feet and clapping together as their voices rose above the music till Taiga's ears rang. He was stunned by the perfection of it all; every move was coordinated and perfectly timed. Still, Taiga got a feeling of wildness, something like barely controlled energy, raring to break free, that left him breathless.

Then it was over, faster than thought.

In a flash off color they disappeared, the people and the emotion they had created.

The emotion that Taiga had pretty much fallen in love with. All gone. Taiga hadn't been sure that what he had seen had even _happened_. It had all been like a dream, full of impossibilities.

The glitter on the ground proved otherwise.

Stunned, he had turned towards his father who had been watching him with an amused smile on his face, clearly delighted in his son's shock.

"What was that?" Taiga had asked, voice barley above a breath. "Cheerleading," was his father's curt answer, almost dismissive. "Don't worry tough, the game will resume in a moment."

But Taiga _did_ worry.

He didn't want the game to resume. He couldn't care less about the game right now. What he wanted was to see the pyramids and the turns and the twists again. He wanted to see the colors again. He wanted to hear the songs again.

He wanted to _feel_ again.

 _Cheerleading._ That was what Taiga wanted.

And if they weren't going to give him more, well then, Taiga would just have to take matters into his own hands.

* * *

Later that day, when Taiga was already asleep in his own bed, exhausted by that day's new experience, Ichiro lay in bed with Asami, hands entwined as his wife read a book at his side and he mulled over what would soon become a problem.

Suddenly, Asami laid her book down and turned to look at him with a concerned but knowing look, which she had mastered over the years of their marriage. "Well then, spit it out. What's got you so worried?" Ichiro turned to face her. His face must have been reflecting his astonishment because Asami rolled her eyes and huffed.

"Don't give me that look Ichiro, I know something's up. I know you better than you know yourself after all." She stroked through his hair and really, what other option did Ichiro have apart from giving in?

"It's Taiga."

"What's with Taiga? I thought you had a great time at the football game?"

Ichiro frowned. They _had_ had a good time. Taiga had been so exited and Ichiro had been just as happy as his six-year-old son. He was thankful for the opportunity to spend time with Taiga, but the ride home and the conversation they had on the car was what had him so concerned. "He wants to be a cheerleader."

Asami barked a laugh so loud she had to put her hand over her mouth to avoid waking Taiga. "Ah Ichiro, you can't be serious."

Ichiro's frown became even more pronounced. "But I am. He said so himself, and you should have seen his face when he said it, Asami he was so serious about it and-"

"That not what I meant," interrupted Asami, laughter making her brown eyes shine. She tugged his hand till it lay atop of her folded legs and began stroking his over his knuckles, trying to calm him down.

"Taiga is just a child and cheerleading has everything it's required to attract a kid's attention," she smiled. "Really Ichiro, let Taiga be, he'll probably forget all about it by the time morning comes."

Ichiro just grunted and looked away, silently thankful for his wife words but too ashamed of having made such a big deal out of nothing for him to tell her so aloud. Either way, Asami's crinkling eyes were proof enough that she knew exactly what he was thinking.

Ichiro sighed and turned his bedside lamp off. His wife was right, as always. It probably was just a passing fancy.

* * *

It was so not just a passing fancy.

Over the months that were to come, Taiga took to eating, breathing and all but _living_ cheerleading.

The redhead had made himself a pair of pompons by tying two pillowcases together and he waved them all around the kitchen every morning while Asami cooked breakfast and Ichiro scowled at him over his morning newspaper.

He tried doing cartwheels on the hall, only managing to stay in the air for a few seconds before crashing down to the floor, breaking his mother's favorite flower vase in the process with a fly-away foot.

And then came the chants.

 _Oh god the chants._

The first time it happened was a week after the football game. The whole family was supposed to have been in bed. Ichiro and Asami had been already dozing off when a blood curling scream came from their son's room and made the both of them bolt right up and run down the hall in frantic panic.

All but throwing the door open Ichiro went barreling into his son's room, looking around for Taiga and whatever had made the little boy scream in such a way. Asami fumbled for the light switch, turning the light on as soon as she found it and kneeling down in front of Taiga, who had been standing in the middle of his room, clad in blue dinosaur pajamas and holding his makeshift pompons.

"Taiga, love, what happened?" asked Asami in a rush of breath, frantically patting her son's body looking for any injuries the boy may have had. "We heard you scream."

"You heard me then? Awesome! That means I'm getting better!"

Silence met Taiga's answer, Ichiro's concerned look slowly melting into a furious scowl. "Cheerleading?! That was what the scream was all about?" demanded Ichiro.

"It's not screaming dad, it's called _chanting,_ " answered Taiga, an offended pout marring his childish face."It's annoying and not for boys like you, that's what it is!"

Asami sighed and looked over at Ichiro reproachfully before standing up and grabbing Taiga by his little hand and pulling him to bed.

"Taiga, sweetheart, you can't practice at this time of the night," said Asami as she tucked Taiga into bed, handing him his stuffed T-Rex for him to snuggle with. "We thought you got hurt, love, you made us worry."

"Oh for god's sake Asami, this nonsense has gone on for long enough, this needs to stop," Ichiro said, voice hard and leaving no room for arguing.

"But dad," said Taiga as he looked at his father with wide eyes, clutching his stuffed toy like a lifeline. "I just want to be a cheer-"

"No! I said this needs to _stop._ I will not have my son doing something as _degrading_ as cheerleading." Ichiro regarded his son with a last strict, disappointed look before promptly turning around and leaving the room, slamming the door on his way out. Asami sighed for the nth time that night and rubbed a hand over her face.

"Mom?" came the tentative question from behind the covers where the only thing that Asami could see of her son was the top of his red-haired head. "Is dad really serious about me not being allowed to do cheerleading anymore?"

Asami forced a smile on her face and reached to pull the covers down so she could look at her son in the eyes.

"Don't worry Taiga, your father was just tired, you know he has been working a lot lately," at Taigas small nod, Asami reached down to plant a kiss on his creased forehead. "I'll talk to him okay? You can continue to practice cheerleading, just, not at night, okay love?"

"Okay"

Asami stood up and headed for the door but stopped short, her hand already over the doorknob as she heard Taiga calling her once again.

"Mom…is it really okay for me to be a cheerleader?" Taiga's voice was tentative and she could see him fidgeting under the covers. Ichiro's words had clearly rattled the little boy more than she had thought. "You know what I always say Taiga?"

"Do the things you like without hurting anyone," was Taiga's resolved response. The redhead looked determined and Asami couldn't help but smile at the sight.

"That's right, love, and do you like cheerleading?"

"More than anything!" was Taiga's automatic answer. Asami smiled at his son's excitement and turned the light off. "There you go then."

"But I hurt dad, didn't I?" Asami flinched at Taiga's tentative question. Her little boy should never sound that sad. "I mean," continued the boy, looking at her almost desperately as he continued to ramble, "he really wanted me to play football but cheerleading is much more fun! And it makes me happy too. I really don't like football but _do_ I want to make dad happy and-"

"Like I said Taiga," cut in Asami, "your father was just tired, you needn't worry, okay sweetheart?" She smiled at Taiga once more and forced herself not to give any of her conflicting emotions away.

"Okay," answered Taiga, more calm after her reassurance. "Thanks mom."

Asami went to kiss him one more time and then ruffled his red hair softly, taking what little comfort the action offered. But as she closed the door to Taiga's bedroom she had to wonder if _she_ was the one who should worry.

* * *

Things went from bad the worse then.

Taiga continued to practice cheerleading with his mother's support and under her watchful eyes (to avoid anymore broken vases) but now the redhead took care to do it only when his father wasn't at home, which actually left Taiga with quite a lot of time to practice. His father tried to get him to quit cheerleading whenever Taiga wasn't careful enough and Ichiro caught him practicing. He pushed him to try and give football a chance or maybe baseball, yeah? Or why not try out basketball huh?

After a while Ichiro realized it was a lost cause, Taiga was dead set on being a cheerleader and nothing was going to stop him, not even his father.

Ichiro and Taiga's relationship grew strained because of it, the father pulling away from his son so that even Taiga, for all his obliviousness, took noticed of the ever-growing distance on the once close relationship.

Comments like _shouldn't you behave like a boy, Taiga?_ Or _Go pick up a ball instead of waving those things around, would you?_ became a common occurrence around the Kagami household. Taiga learned to simply ignore them after his failed _those are pompons dad_ s earned him only a sneer from his father.

All Asami could do was watch and try to keep the rift between father and son from widening. But as the weeks turned into month and Ichiro stopped talking to Taiga all together when the boy refused to join the baseball team for the tent time she began to wonder if she was really fighting a loosing battle.

She saw how the then seven-year-old Taiga practiced his cartwheels diligently everyday after coming back from elementary school. These where slowly becoming better - she hadn't had to replace the vase on the hall in two weeks, which was a record. She saw how he looked up videos on the Internet of world-famous cheerleading squads and tried to copy their movements - she also had to stop Taiga before he hurled himself from the kitchen counter in a poor-thought-off attempt to try and teach himself how to do a backflip.

And although she was happy for him, elated that her little boy had found something to love and pour all of his energy on, she also saw how little by little Taiga stopped talking about his friends from school. She noticed how now every time she asked him about his day and that day's classes Taiga's face would show a mix of discomfort, hurt and anger instead of his usual happy expression.

She noticed how Taiga now longer hanged out at the park with his classmates after school like he used to do every day, instead opting to go straight home and try to remember basic cheerleading positions.

She saw the sad looks Taiga would give his father after the man came home from work and ignored Taiga outright. She was helpless as she noticed how those looks turned form sad to angry as Taiga began to glare at his father, as her once-cheerful son became aggressive and quicker to anger.

But in spite all of that, what she most remembered from that time was how Taiga would glow when he manage to pull a perfect back twist or how happy he would be after getting through an entire chant without stuttering.

So she kept silent and hoped that her support was enough.

It had to be.

* * *

If Taiga's life inside his house had been a nightmare, well then, life outside of it had been absolute hell.

As soon as his classmates found out that he liked cheerleading the name-calling started.

Taiga became Missy and then Missy became Princess and then Princess became Faggot once the older kids got wind of the strange redheaded kid with the weird eyebrows and a passion for _cheerleading_ of all things.

His friends stood by him at the beginning, some of them even tried to get the other kids to stop teasing Taiga, but when they began to get teased in return they figured out pretty quickly that they easy way out was to deny any connection to him. Taiga couldn't blame them, not when he saw getting pushed around and shoved into locker just for hanging our around him. So he let it roll of him and he learned how to pack a punch. By the time Winter Break rolled around, Taiga was already used to eating lunch by himself.

When Taiga turned nine and started third grade had had already heard all the possible demeaning nicknames his classmates could come up with and all those that they couldn't too, thanks to the high schoolers from his neighborhood and, on occasion, thanks to his dad too.

His body became littered with Band-Aids; his knees and elbows always sporting scratches and his clothes were often dirty and torn up by the end of the day. His mother started to worry, well, more than she already did. She would shoot him concerned glances as she patched him up after a rough day in school, which he would ignore. He knew involving an adult was the worst thing he could do. The bullying would just get worse than it already was, so he kept his mouth shut and let his glare become fiercer, his skin thicker.

(His dad just sneered at him when he saw him one day with black and green bruises running along his arm and told him that _this_ wouldn't have happened if he had joined the football team like he had told him countless time before.)

But never once did Taiga regret choosing to stick to cheerleading. The feeling he got when he pulled off his first backflip after weeks and weeks of practice was well worth a few sneers and bruises.

After the incident where a bunch of his classmates and two of their older brothers decided it would be fun to throw him up in the air and then promptly forget to catch him since _he wanted to be a cheerleader and all, didn't he?_ And that's what cheerleaders _do_ , don't they? _They fly, princess._ Talks with the principal of his school became a weekly occurrence.

Mr. Jones tried to get him to quit cheerleading. _For his own safety_ he said, but after a tongue-lashing from his mother about how the school didn't seem to be living up to all their anti-bullying policies and how this could be a _really_ interesting story if the local newspaper caught wind of it and _oh, did she mention the head journalist from said paper was a very good friend of hers?_ the principal did a one-eighty and promised to begin enforcing those same policies right away. He had never been more grateful for his mother that he had been then.

The bullied lessened a bit after that. Most of his classmates were content with ignoring him and Taiga could care less if he was chosen last for PE class. Still, there were some kids who didn't' get the memo and wouldn't leave him alone.

But then again, it was thanks to those kinds of kids that he got to meet Tatsuya, so really, it all kind of balanced out in the end.

* * *

"There he is! That's his red hair across the street!"

Taiga dropped his ice cream in surprise as he turned around and spotted a bunch of his classmates pointing at him from the other side of the road, murder in their eyes. "Get Him!"

Taiga ran.

Heart pounding and sweat dripping down his neck, the redhead urged his legs to go faster, faster, _faster_. They were closing in on him and although Taiga was by no means scared of the three classmates that were chasing him, he knew he wouldn't stand a chance against the high school student they had brought along with them - a big brother, maybe?- as back up.

Cowards the lot of them, couldn't even fight for themselves, thought Taiga as he sprinted down the street. This Taiga knew with absolute certainty, seeing as he was the one who punched the lights out of them in recess a few hours back after they cornered him to try and take his lunch money form him because he had to stay thin to fit in the cheerleader uniform, _right princess_?

Taiga turned a sharp corner and in his panic didn't see the boy standing right in front of him, which caused Taiga to bowl right over the poor boy and brought the both of them tumbling down to the ground. Hard.

"Oh shit, I'm sorry, I didn't see you there," Taiga apologized, standing up as soon as he got his feet under him and offering a hand the help the other boy up.

"It's okay." The dark-haired boy replied, smiling back at Taiga. Now that they were both standing up, he could see that the kid was abut his age, maybe a bit older, with glossy black hair that hung over his face, hiding his left eye from view. What surprised Taiga most of all though, was that the boy appeared to be of Japanese descent, something he didn't often see in LA.

"Are you hurt?" asked the dark haired boy, a single gray-green eye staring at a spot right above Taiga's left eyebrow. The redhead lifted a hand to feel the spot the other boy was looking at and his fingers came away red. He had probably smashed his forehead after their fall, but whit all the adrenaline thrumming through his body from running; he had barely felt the wound. "Yeah, it's just a small cut. I'm-"

"There! In front of the store! Get him!"

The sudden scream startled both boys and Taiga turned back to see his four pursuers running up the street, heading straight for him, eyes alight with murder.

"-apparently still running for my life. Shit, they're faster than I thought."

The dark haired boy looked past Taigas shoulders and his eyes, well eye, really, widened at the sight of the four kids heading their way at full steam.

Taiga had taken maybe three steps, hoping to outrun his bullies and lose them at the next intersection when he felt a hand grabbing his wrist.

"Wait, it's better of you go this way, there's an alley. You can ditch them there."

Taiga looked up into the strange boy's face and locked eyes with him. After a moment of hesitation and seeing no ill will reflected in the boy's green eye, Taiga nodded his head. The boy smiled at him and immediately started to pull him into a narrow street to their left, which the redhead hadn't noticed before.

They slipped into the alley just in time to see the four bullies barrel past them shouting obscenities and waving their fist in the air. The two boys held their breath while they waited to see if the had managed to lose their attackers. They spend a few seconds in tense silence before they heard approaching footsteps. Taiga tightened his grip on the others boy hand unconsciously and he felt the other boy squeeze it in return. They caught a glimpse of one of the bullies face, peering into the alley, no doubt having retreated his steps after losing sight of Taiga's red mop of hair. They bully spotted them huddle into the wall, a vicious gleam in his eyes and Taiga waited no more time.

"Run!" With that Taiga started to pull the other boy in the opposite direction of the bully. He didn't turn to see how close the other three pursuers were and just concentrated and running as fast as he could while pulling the strange boy along with him. Taiga was sure that if he left the boy alone the bullies would beat him up t just for having helped Taiga escape and that was something that Taiga couldn't allow to happen. Not when to other boy had helped him so readily in spite of him being a total stranger and all but having crashed into him.

They ran without a destination in mind, hands clasped together and chests heaving in the hot LA weather till they came upon a deserted basketball court beside what appeared to be a public park. Since they couldn't see nor hear any of the four boys that had been chasing them, well chasing Taiga mostly, they slowed to a stop. They stood under the thin shade of the basketball hoop, both of them trying to catch their breath.

After what felt like an eternity but what was probably only a few minutes Taiga managed to get his breathing under control and finally looked up to where the other boy was standing, looking almost unruffled but for the thin layer of sweat that coated his skin.

"I-Thanks, really. I'm sorry I dragged you into this," mumbled Taiga, ashamed of having made the boy run across LA under in one of the hottest cays of summer.

"It's no big deal. I could see you needed the help," replied the boy - Tatsuya now -smile still fixed on his face. "My name is Himuro Tatsuya, by the way."

"So you really are Japanese, huh?" Taiga blurted out before he had time to think about it. The redhead grimaced at his bluntness and immediately apologized, "sorry, that was rude, I'm Kagami Taiga."

"Stop apologizing, really, it's okay," Tatsuya sat down below the hoop and looked at Taiga expectantly before patting the ground next to him in what was a clear invitation to seat down too. "I was born in Japan but me and my family moved to America when I was little."

"Same here," said Taiga, body slowly relaxing as he looked at Tatsuya's easy smile. The both of them had much in common already and Tatsuya seemed really cool. Most importantly, he had helped Taiga, which gave him _all_ the brownie points in his opinion. Maybe Tatsuya could become from his friend from now on, though the redhead as something akin to hope settled in his chest, it would certainty be nice to have some one to hang out with.

"Why were those four chasing you for then?"

The question made Taiga freeze. He didn't want Tatsuya to find out why he had been chased. It would probably mean losing his opportunity to make a new friend.

As soon as Tatsuya found out that he wanted to be a cheerleader, he would surely sneer at him and ignore him, maybe he would even try to beat him up. Taiga grimaced; he knew he was a really bad liar so that was out of the question. Besides he didn't even want to lie to Tatsuya in the first place. Sure, he was afraid of the other's boy reaction but the boy had been nothing but kind to him and he didn't deserve being lied to.

So Taiga sighed and turned his head up to the blue sky. "It's because I want to be a cheerleader," he mumbled, voice barely above a breath, preparing himself for the other boy's reaction.

"You what?" was the sharp response, but instead of being filled with disgust Taiga could only detect pure astonishment.

The redhead turned to look at Tatsuya, who was staring at him with wide eyes full of something that Taiga couldn't quite name but that looked incredibly similar to hope. Taiga frowned in confusion; normally the name-calling would have already begun. "I said that I want to be a cheerleader and those guys back there make fun of me for it."

"Really? You're not joking right?" Tatsuya was staring at him wide eyed and the lack of mocking made Taiga nervous. He was prepared to defend himself and fight his way out of the court if it came down to it, but he Tatsuya's hopeful glance and bright smile were throwing him for a loop.

So Taiga turned to his automatic response when he was confused and scowled fiercely. "Why would I joke about something like that, idiot? It's caused me enough trouble as it is." Tatsuya just smiled at him, undeterred by his gruff tone. "I know right? People are so stupid sometimes, cheerleading is awesome but nobody seems to get it!"

Taiga gaped at him, jaw hanging open and red eyes wide in disbelief as he tried to make sense of the turn of events. "You-you like cheerleading too?!"

Tatsuya nodded his head, single eye brimming with happiness. "Yeah! A friend showed me a video of a cheerleading squad once and since then I've been hooked. I didn't know any other boys my age liked it too though."

Taiga, who still couldn't wrap his head around what the other boy was saying, just nodded dumbly in agreement.

"Hey would you like to go back to my house? I know we just met but I found this video yesterday of a squad who do really cool stunts and nobody else is interested in watching it with me. What do you say?" Tatsuya was already standing up, the sun casting shadows over his face, making it difficult to see the expression on the other's boy face but Taiga could still make out the warm smile the other boy was giving him.

Taiga rose to his feet, accepting Tatsuya's outstretched hand. "I would really like that, yeah." Tatsuya's smile became softer, more genuine and Taiga couldn't help but grin in return.

* * *

After his chance encounter with Tatsuya, life for Taiga became easier, _better._

He had a friend now; no, it was even more than that. He had a _brother_ now and the ring that always hung from his neck was proof of that.

He could always count on Tatsuya to be there for him, be it for a late night study session or a day of practicing cheerleading stunts. The other boy taught him tricks to improve his moves and gave him tips to win in a fight. He became a sort of lifeline for Taiga, steady and constant.

It was also Tatsuya who encouraged him to approach his school's cheerleading squad, which had been full of girls before he came along and asked to join in. After convincing the captain, a girl named Laura, that yes _he really was interested in cheerleading_ and no _it was not part of a dare_ and no _he would never dare to join just so he could ogle the girls in their skirts_ he became part of the squad.

He found then that what he had been doing up until now had been pure child play. Although he did better with the stunts, the backflips and the like than anyone - even him- had expected, he was found severely lacking in the dance department. Taiga hadn't given dancing that much thought really, he was man enough to admit that he didn't have a single drop of grace in his whole body so he always figured that if he managed to become part of a squad, he would become a thrower. Besides, his chants and loud voice more than made up for his lack of dancing skills.

The girls of the squad thought otherwise though.

"Move your hips! Taiga, god, how are you so stiff?!"

"Don't just let your arms hang around, _use them_!"

"I wanna see more butt movement, c'mon Taiga I know you can do better!"

"Mind your feet, kid!"

"Don't lose your balance after the twist- _damn it Taiga, are you alright_?"

"MOVE THOSE HIPS!"

After three of the most embarrassing training sessions of his life Taiga managed to learn the basics of dancing. By this he meant that he learned how to sway and how to turn around in twirl without falling flat on his face and then promptly gave up and sulked for the rest of training till the girls went back to practicing throwing, which he was actually really great at, thank you very much.

By the time fourth grade came along Taiga was already a regular in the cheerleading squad. His school was fortunately very good at sports in general so the cheerleading squad got a lot of opportunities to show off their routines to the public and to other rival schools.

Laura put him in charge of creating the chants and then actually _leading_ them. His gruff voice allowed him to be heard over the roar of the crowd at football and basketball games and he always made sure to give his 100% in very single practice and in every single presentation they had.

His classmates became easier to deal with too. When they realized that he was friends with all the hot, older girls of the cheerleading squad they all came begging to him, asking him to introduce them to the squad, which he obviously didn't do because _hello_ , the girls could be downright lethal when they wanted to be, especially when they wore heels.

And those who still continued to tease him and bully him soon learned the same thing that Taiga had during his first week of training with the girls: no one messes with the cheerleading squad.

The older girls took it onto themselves to defend Taiga every time someone tried to pull something on him, even if Taiga argued that he could take care of it himself. They all insisted on helping and soon enough Taiga found himself with about a dozen bodyguards who accompanied him everywhere he went inside the school - and sometimes even outside of it- who all knew just how to thrown a person up in the air but could also just as easily forget how to catch them when they came back down.

After some time a few brave guys gathered enough courage to join the squad and soon Taiga found more and more people who shared the same interest as him. The squad became stronger with the new recruits and he managed to make new friends. By the time that sixth grade came around, Taiga was made captain of the cheerleading squad, much to his joy, seeing that he had been eyeing the position ever since Laura upped and went to high school.

All in all, Taiga fit right in with the cheerleading squad, he felt like he _belonged_ for once.

The squad continued to cheer for the different sports teams of the school but Taiga wanted more. So a few months into his captaincy Taiga managed to get his squad into the State-Wide Cheerleading Competition for Primary Schools after much cajoling - and what he could now admit had been blatant ass-kissing, not that he regretted it mind you, cheerleading came always first to Taiga after all, his reputation be damned.

The competition had been brutal and served as a sort of wake-up-call. Taiga could have never imagined that the level of cheerleading in middle school could be so high. Although they were unequal both in numbers and experience to most of the other teams, his squad managed to get as far as to the semi-finals by the skin of all their collective teeth. Sadly, a powerhouse school that had apparently been the reigning champion for the last two years crushed them at the semifinals match. The bastards had even had their own sponsor, and they were _in middle school_ for god's sake.

After all had been said and done though, they did their best whit what they had and managed to get farther than anyone would have imagined, or so Taiga told his morose squad on their way home after their last performance. This knowledge didn't stop Taiga from crying his eyes out that night to Tatsuya after their loss though.

His mother came to every single presentation Taiga participated in. She would always tell him how proud of him she was at the end of every show and Taiga would hug her so tight that she had to pry his arms away from her body to be able to breath well.

His father never showed his face to any of them, but then, that was expected.

* * *

It was the summer break before Taiga was meant to start Junior High when he and Tatsuya met Alex for the first time. A day neither of them would be forgetting anytime soon.

Both boys had been itching to go practice a new move they had seen some European cheerleaders do and had decided to head to the basketball court near Tatsuya's apartment after school let out and see if they could pull it off before sundown. Something that proved to be impossible, seeing as both Taiga and Tatsuya had been trying to do the stupidly difficult backwards twist for about three hours each and they _still_ couldn't land without stumbling - Tatsuya's case or falling flat on their face - that was Taiga.

Just as the redhead was psyching himself up for another try, hands up in the air and back ramrod straight as Tatsuya watched from the side, eyes alert to try and catch him if the stunt went sideways, an ominous shadow fell over both boys, blocking the sun and making Taiga stop short as Tatsuya's eye went wide.

"You're gonna fall if you don't spread your feet more, you know," said a lilting voice filled with amusement from behind Taiga, "not that you haven't been doing enough of that as it is."

Taiga wiped around in surprise and found himself looking straight ahead at a pierced belly button.

"Eyes up here, short stuff."

Taiga gulped and raised his head up and up and _up_ till he came face to face with a blond woman, who was smirking down at him. Her blond hair fell down to her shoulders; two longer strands framing her face and a pair of red glasses encasing her green eyes.

"Who the hell are you?" shouted Taiga, still bewildered by the woman's sudden appearance. He felt Tatsuya come to stand beside him and he felt his body relax as his brother in all but blood bumped his shoulder against his in a show of support.

"My, my, you've got quite a mouth on you, dontcha kid?"

"Please forgive Taiga," said Tatsuya, face betraying nothing of the wariness Taiga knew he was feeling - it wasn't just kids that made fun of them after all. Both Taiga and Tatsuya had met quiet a few adults who judged them for their love of cheerleading and they hadn't had any qualms about showing their disgust, Taiga's own father being the case in point. Tatsuya's mouth curled up into the smile that always made adults melt and girls swoon as he took over the conversation, "you just surprised him that's all."

"Ha! So you must be the one who keeps this one," said the woman, pointing her finger down at Taiga, "out of trouble then."

"Yes, that's usually the case miss…" answered the dark-haired boy, dialing up the charm till he was almost exuding politeness and childish innocence, which Taiga knew for a _fact_ was fake - Tatsuya being innocent was about as impossible as him eating salad for lunch.

"Alexandra Garcia, but you two cuties can call me Alex." The woman winked at them and reached a hand to ruffle Taigas' red hair, which the redhead instantly swatted away.

"What do you want then?" asked Taiga sourly, frown prominent on his face. Tatsuya elbowed him on the side. "I-I mean, is there something you, ah - you needed?" He grimaced; Taiga wasn't particularly keen on being polite to the annoying woman, seeing as she had rudely interrupted their practice and then proceeded to make fun of him.

"You both were trying to pull the German backflip twist right?" she didn't give them time to answer and just went on talking, like she hadn't even asked them a question in the first place. "I was walking by when I saw you both practicing and I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I let you two aspiring cheerleaders butcher one of the most basic stunts in the history of cheerleading." Her smile became sugar-sweet, which just made Taiga frown even harder as he felt his anger burning hotter.

"Oi! Just who do you think you are, you wretch-"

"Taiga!" came Tatsuya's alarmed yell as he hurried to try and stop Taiga before he managed to finish his insult. The woman-Alex- just laughed, loud and completely unashamed by it.

"Taiga is it?" Alex asked, clearly unruffled by Taiga's anger, "I was just offering a helping hand to you boys, seeing as I happen to be a former member of the National Cheerleading Squad, but then again, if you don't want my hard-earned wisdom of all thing cheerleading, I'll be on my way." She started walking towards the door on the fence of the court, back turned toward Taiga, who's jaw now hung open in disbelief. "Have fun trying to do that backflip you two."

Taiga and Tatsuya looked at each other, then towards Alex's retreating form, which was slowly but steadily moving closer and closer to the entryway and then back to each other again. A sudden understanding passed through both boys as they turned and started to run toward what was probably the best opportunity they would ever have at improving their cheerleading skills. An opportunity that was now already outside the court and slipping rapidly through their finger.

"Wait!"

Alex stopped mid-step and turned agonizingly slowly towards Taiga and Tatsuya, who skidded to a stop before they could barrel over her in their desperation.

"Yes?"

Taiga gulped and looked over to the dark-haired boy, who took a deep breath and straightened his back. Both of them knew that Taiga would most likely cost them this chance if he so much as opened his mouth. Politeness and niceties Taiga always left to Tatsuya, who wore such things as a second skin.

"We would be honored if you helped us practice, miss Garcia."

Alex smiled at them, "Now, now, there's really no need to be so formal with me," the smile she gave them turned downright _bloody_ and her eyes filled with some sort of evil anticipation, "not when I'm about to wipe this whole court clean with the both of you."

Both boys gulped and turned to look at each other, wondering if they hadn't just made a terrible mistake.

* * *

They did, sort of.

Make a mistake, that is.

Not that Alex was a bad teacher, that couldn't be further from the truth actually.

Alex was a great teacher and an even greater mentor. She had boundless knowledge, both theoretical and practical, which she knew just how to use. She also had years and years of experience gained through a whole carrier of cheerleading which gave her a huge advantage over any other teacher Taiga and Tatsuya may have hoped to find - and of course, she was light years ahead of the Internet and YouTube How-To-s (at least in what cheerleading was concerned) which was how Taiga and Tatsuya had been learning so far.

She realized just after two days of practicing with Taiga and Tatsuya that she needed to go about teaching them a bit differently from each other, since they learned better with individual teaching methods. Tatsuya for example, did better if he saw a stunt executed before he himself tried it. He would copy Alex movements, the position of her hands and feet and after a few tries, he would match it perfectly.

Taiga on the other hand needed to try a stunt for himself and _then_ be corrected on the particular moves, which unfortunately meant that the redhead would always end up sprawled all over the dirt covered floor of the court they had taken to practice in (and that had become sort of _theirs_ in the two months they had been training together if they way the neighborhood kids avoided it like the plague was anything to go by) while Tatsuya and Alex laughed their faces off after another spectacular fail.

The only drawback to their peculiar arrangement was that, although Alex certainly was the greatest teacher any student could ask for, she had apparently decided that said teaching role also extended _outside_ of the court.

Which, of course, was what led Taiga right into the situation he now found himself in.

"Man, Taiga, your sister's so _hot_!"

"I didn't even know boobs could _be_ that big"

"You think she'd let me touch them if I asked?"

"No way, dude…Maybe if _I_ asked, tough."

Taiga snapped.

"First, she's not my sister. She's my annoying mentor," here Taiga whirled towards Alex, who was grinning at him, unrepentant and surrounded by a bunch of Taiga's year mates, who ere all googly-eyed and basically drooling over her, "and she was supposed to wait by the café at the end of the street and not at the gates of my fuck-ah-freacking _school_." This was specifically directed at Alex just who gave him a look of surprise, which Taiga did not buy for a _second_.

"Now, now, tiger, there's no need to be jealous. You know you'll always be my one and only love."

Taiga just scowled harder and gave her his best _we will have words_ look as he shouldered his way into the gaggle of teens and began pushing Alex over to the schools gates and away from this freaking nightmare. "See you around kids," said Alex merrily as she waved a dainty goodbye to the drooling mass she had made, all while looking like the cat that got the cream. Taiga's only answer was to push her even harder.

Once they were a safe distance away from his school Taiga finally stopped pushing Alex and went around her instead to fall into step with the blonde and make it easier for him to glare at her.

They walked in silence for a while, Taiga's scowl slowly melting away as they trudged thought LA's busy street, heading for the court they were supposed to meet Tatsuya at as Alex looked on ahead, eyes unfocused and glazed over, as if she were in deep thought, which Taiga secretly doubted Alex could do - at least with something not cheerleading-relevant.

"You know, I just started going to that school." Taiga said, a bit sourly but without any real bite to it, voice more resigned than angry. "I've managed to stay under the radar so far in spite of joining the cheerleading squad. Now everyone's gonna talk and soon they'll find out about me joining the squad and then the bullying will start again and it will all have been your fault."

Of course Taiga knew that was not true. The truth would have come out sooner or later and he had just been hoping for the impossible, thinking that he could get through a whole year of school without someone _at least_ teasing him about wanting to be a cheerleader. Still, he had specifically told Alex not to go to his school, already having expected such a reaction. She usually listened to him when he asked her to take something seriously, which he had actually _done_. Not this time apparently and Taiga was getting a bit anxious about the whole thing, specially since Alex hadn't said a word since he begun his rant, which was not like Alex at all.

"I know, tiger," sighed Alex, "but I needed to talk to you." She came to a sudden stop and Taiga had to retrace back a few steps to stand by her side. She looked at him, all amusement gone from her face, a frown marring her unusually somber expression.

"What is it?" asked Taiga warily, had had seen her this serious only once before and that had been when Tatsuya landed on the wrong foot and twisted his ankle, so whatever the hell this was, it was no laughing matter.

"It's Tatsuya. Haven't you notice something off about him lately?"

Taiga froze.

He hadn't wanted to say anything, in case he had been overreacting, which he was admittedly prone to do, but for the past few days he _had_ noticed something. Tatsuya had been pulling away from them; he had been pulling away from Taiga, pulling away from his b _rother_ and for the life of him Taiga could no figure out why.

Sure, he and Tatsuya had fought before, but it had always been over meaningless things, like who got the last popsicles or who's turn it was to watch out for the other while they tried a new stunt. Petty thing usually solved by a quick match of rock-paper-scissors. And if their fights somehow escalated, they were always, _always_ anger-of-the-moment banters, all heat and big talk but without any real meaning behind them. Now though, there was no heat, no anger. Instead Taiga felt as if Tatsuya was trying to shut him out, to cut him off and it _hurt_ because it had always been them together, it has always been TatsuyaandTaiga and TaiagandTatsuya, brothers in all but blood since the day Tatsuya had decide to help a strange redheaded kid escape some bullies. But now, now it was like Tatsuya had taken his favorite phrase _keep a cool head and a hot heart_ a step to far and the coldness had somehow slithered into Tatsuya's heart as well and Taiga didn't know what to do, didn't even now where to _start_. He had always been bad with feelings, even worse at talking about them. That had always been Tatsuya's forte, but now that his brother was to one that Taiga needed to figure out, he was at a complete loss.

"So you have noticed something." Alex's voice startled Taiga out of the reverie he had been in. He looked up to se her staring at him, face a mix of sadness, pity and something he couldn't quiet discern.

"Yeah," whispered Taiga. It felt wrong; admitting it, but it also felt like a weight had been lifted off his shoulder at the same time. So he had been right, it hadn't just been his imagination after all. "He's pulling away, isn't he?"

Alex just looked at him for a while longer before she started walking once again, leaving Taiga to trail after her without having his questioned answered.

They continued walking in silence till they reached their usual training court. Tatsuya wasn't there yet. His school let out a bit after Taiga's so it was not unexpected but with the subject of the conversation they had been having the older boy's lack of presence just made Taiga even more disquieted than he already was.

He was already done with his stretches and had been intending to start practicing the frontal jump Alex had been talking about the day before when his mentor spoke again, voice soft but without a hint of doubt in it.

"I think he's jealous, of you, I mean."

"Who's jealous?" asked Taiga in confusion.

"Tatsuya, of course. Who else?"

"Tatsuya?!" shouted Taiga, completely blindsided by Alex's comment because really, Tatsuya jealous of him? No way in hell.

"It's not as impossible as you seem to think it is Taiga," replied Alex patiently from where she stood under the basketball hoop, hands on her hips and green eyes staring straight at him. "You have natural talent, something which Tatsuya doesn't. He has to practice twice as hard as you just to pull to same stunt off. I think it's getting to him."

Taiga just gaped. He still couldn't wrap his mind around what Alex was trying to say. Because cool, aloof, ever-patient Tatsuya, who did backflips as easy as breathing and didn't so much as stumble after a high jump couldn't possibly be jealous of _Taiga,_ who struggled with basic twists and fell flat on his face more times than he could count.

"He-he can't, I mean, please Alex, that's just impossible not when he- and the things he does and I can't even- I mean-!"

"It's no about what you can _do_ Taiga, it's about what you _could_ do" at Taiga's look of complete confusion Alex sighed and tried to explain it in more detail. "I'm talking about _potential,_ tiger. Tatsuya has realized that someday, I'm not saying it'll be tomorrow or next week, but _someday_ , he'll reach his full potential. He'll reach the top and for him that'll be it. But you'll still be able to keep going, you'll surpass him and _that_ is what has got him pulling away from you."

Taiga took a shaky breath and tried to keep his breathing under control. Alex couldn't just _say_ these things. It wasn't _fair_. All he had ever wanted was to practice cheerleading and now that he had found someone who shared the same dream as him, now that he had found himself a _brother_ , he was going to lose him if he kept doing the thing he loved most.

He clenched his fist in anger, no sure if it was directed at Alex for just springing this shit on him or at Tatsuya for being so goddamn stupid for thinking this sort of bullshit or even at himself for being incapable of just _talking_ to Tatsuya and work thing out just as they had always done.

He felt arms encircle him as Alex knelt down next to him and embraced him."It's not your fault, tiger. You have to understand that, okay?" the calming tone of Alex's voice managed to cut through Taiga's frantic mind and he lifted his head to rest it on her shoulder, hiding his face between the strand of her blond hair so she wouldn't see the tears tracks on his cheeks. "I'll talk with him, okay? You'll see. I'll all be fine and the three of us will continue practicing cheerleading together till you both manage to beat me at least once. That's a promise Taiga."

Taiga just nodded, ready to believe anything if it meant getting to keep both cheerleading and his brother in his life.

* * *

In the end it happened faster than any of them expected.

Tatsuya continued to pull away and although both Taiga and Alex did everything they could to keep the gap from widening one day Tatsuya didn't show up for their usual practice after school. He wasn't there the day after either, or that day after that or the day after, till it had been a whole week since either Taiga or Alex had last seen him and both had to admit defeat.

Taiga didn't see Tatsuya for months and neither did Alex, although both of them tried to look for him. He seemed to always be out when they went by his apartment and neither one of his parents were able to tell them were Tatsuya might have been.

It was Taiga who found him at last, well if he ha was being honest, it was really a chance encounter that had them meeting again.

Taiga's school's football team was playing a match at which Taiga's squad was cheering and there it was that he spotted Tatsuya. The other boy was on the other side of the court, looking straight at Taiga, smiling at him as if everything was completely _fine_ , like he hadn't dropped of the face of the earth and ignored him for months. Taiga felt anger rise in him, how dare Tatsuya act all nonchalant like he hadn't left Taiga in _pieces_ after his disappearance. How dare he stand there easy as you please when Taiga was on the verge of tear, of anger, frustration or happiness he didn't know, but numb all the same.

A flash of glossy black hair and a tip of the older boy's head had Taiga immediately going after him, completely ignoring his teammates calls and questions.

The dark haired boy led Taiga to the changing rooms of the home school, which Tatsuya had apparently had transferred into- as if the emotional distance hadn't been enough the bastard also had to _change schools_ and damn if that didn't hurt like a bitch.

There it was that they made the promise, the promise that broke Taiga's heart all over again.

50 games.

They would face each other 50 times and the one who had won the most matches by the end would have the faith of their relationship in their hands. If Taiga won, he would get to keep calling Tatsuya his brother, on the other hand if Taiga lost he would lose Tatsuya completely. The redhead decided that it was easier if he just _denied_ the mere possibility of him losing, because if he _did_ lose- well, as he said, it was better if he didn't even imagine it.

Both their schools were strong enough in sports for them to be able to play that number of games. And play they did. Game after game after game they faced each other off, be it at a basketball match, a football one or a baseball game, they both gave it their all at every match, both knowing what was at stake if they lost and both fighting tooth and nail to keep that from happening.

And as they drew closer to the end of the bet they each got better, they improved by leaps and bounds as Alex watched over both of them, present at every game they cheered at even as she tried to convince them to give up on their foolish little bet and just reconcile already _you're best friend damnit, you're brothers_. And _god_ did Taiga wanted that, but if there was something that Taiga didn't do, it was go back on his word. And so they cheered and so they sang and they jumped and they danced, every game they played bringing them always one step closer to the end.

But just as it always did with Taiga, life decide to throw him one last _fuck you_ right in the face _,_ because a week before his last match against Tatsuya, the game that was supposed to finally, _finally_ put an end to their bet and decide the future of Taigas' relationship with his maybe-brother, his father decided that Taiga was moving to _Japan._

 _Of fucking course_.

By this point in his life, Taiga really has to wonder how he had expected anything less.


	2. Chapter 2

So here's the thing, contrary to popular belief, Taiga is actually _not stupid._

Sure, he can be a bit dense sometimes and his grades are admittedly not the best and yeah, stuff like feelings and social niceties usually _do_ go right over his head but when his father sits him down one day and tells him that he has been away from his true home for far too long and how he doesn't want his only son to forget where he really comes from and that's why he is going to ship Taiga off to _fucking_ _Tokyo_ Taiga immediately calls bullshit.

His father couldn't care less if Taiga was losing touch with Japanese culture - which he wasn't, by the way. His mother always talked to him in Japanese when he was a kid and even if he stumbles over his sentences and sometimes has to ask his mother to talk more slowly, he's still pretty decent, if a bit rude (which is actually not on purpose, no matter what Tatsuya used to say). He knows the culture, he knows the tradition, he knows the kanji- well, that one may be pushing it a bit to far-but _still._ It's not like his sudden move to another country has anything to do with him learning about Japan. His parents had moved to America for a reason after all and as much as Ichiro liked to say it was because he had been offered a promotion and they had _had_ to move, Taiga also knows that it had more to do with his grandfather's close-mindness - which is just hilarious, isn't it? Now Ichiro was becoming exactly what he had tried to escape from and he wasn't even noticing.

So, like he said, Taiga called bullshit.

"That's total _bullshit!_ "

"Watch your tongue, young man!"

"You can't just ship me off to another country!" Taiga shouted right in father's face who just raised his eyes to stare at him over his newspaper. Taiga's eyebrow twitched. The bastard didn't even deem this conversation important enough to put the damn thing down, never mind that it was about Taiga's whole life they were talking about. "I have friends here. I go to school here! The cheerleading tournament is about to start and I'm the captain, I can't just _leave_."

His mother went over to him, wiping her hands on her apron and laying a them on his shoulders, trying to offer him what comfort she could, but her brown eyes showed nothing but discomfort and a deep sadness at the situation. "Ichiro, maybe we should discuss this again, Taiga has a point after-"

"No, Asami. The decision has been made, as have all the necessary arrangements for his departure," his father's voice was final and left no room for argument. That just made Taiga's anger grow even hotter.

"You have no right! You didn't even asked me what I thought, you don't give a damn about what I want," Taiga ranted. Anger and frustration burning hot on his chest and making the words spew out of his mouth without him even noticing. "You are just hoping to keep me away from cheerleading. You hate me for that and you want me gone, _I_ know that, _mom_ knows that, _everyone_ knows that, so at least have the _balls_ to say it to my face and not hide behind some _bullshit excuse_!"

Taiga was heaving as if he had just done three backflips in a row, hands firmly planted over the kitchen table, burning a hole into the classified section of the _goddamn_ paper that his father was still reading. He could hear his mother trying to keep in the sobs that were threatening the come out behind his back as he shook in uncontained, pure anger. For once, he made no move to comfort her, too caught up into his own raging mix of emotions. He heard rustling over the rushing blood in his ear and saw his father _finally_ put down the paper and look him straight in the eyes.

"You're leaving next Wednesday, be sure to have packed your backs by then."

Taiga snarled and made a move to reach for his father shirt collar, not sure what he had been intending to do. He aborted the motion midway though, hand halfway to his father as he remembered his ever patient mother who had been nothing but supportive of him and who was now outright sobbing behind his back. He wouldn't do this to her. He _couldn't_ hurt her, not this way, not ever, not to his _mother_. The redhead knew that his love for cheerleading had put a strain on his parent's marriage and he also knew that he had been incredibly selfish. He hadn't wanted to give it up, not something that brought him so much joy and happiness. And so he had kept practicing even as he noticed how his father no longer reached for his mother's hand at breakfast or how he would sometimes walk into the middle of one of their hushed fights at the dead of night, which he just _knew_ were about him, if his mom's pleading eyes and his father's resolute answers were anything to go by.

So Taiga let his arms hang loosely at his side as he took in a deep breath and bowed his head in resignation, trying to keep the tears at bay.

"Oaky, then. Okay." Taiga turned and started walking towards the door, knowing he wouldn't be capable of staying inside the house for another second. His mother tried to reach out for him, eyes watery and red but Taiga just shook his head at her and left the house in silence, all anger had seeped out of him and now he felt empty and just so _fucking tired_.

He walked aimlessly for hours, face blank and expressionless, trudging through LA's streets without direction, simply drifting. His feet took him towards the court where he, Alex and Tatsuya used to practice everyday after school without him noticing. Those sun-filled times now felt like such a long time ago it might as well had been a dream or another life.

Taiga stretched his arms above his head and set out to practice till he _bled_.

(Maybe he would be able to forget that way.)

* * *

It was Alex who got him through that hellish week in the end and Taiga had never been more grateful for his teacher as he was when he saw her that night at the edge of the court, hands on her hips, a disapproving scowl on her face and corrections on his stance and feet position coming from her mouth a mile a minute.

She was also the one who bandaged his hands and feet after he was done, hands raw and skin pink for not having been careful enough, feet aching from jumping so much. But Taiga was grateful for the pain, mild as it was, for it was helping him keep his mind away from what had happened at home, keeping his mind away from how he would have to leave everything behind, leave _Alex_ behind and god did that realization just dug the knife in deeper.

After Taiga explained the situation to her, he and Alex decide to research. His father hadn't chosen a school for him yet and after talking to his mother, he had allowed Taiga to be the one who chose it, seeing as he was the one who would be attending it in the first place. His only requirement had been for Taiga to keep his grades up - or well, as up as they had been in America, which wouldn't be that hard considering his C- GPA. Alex insisted on helping him, claiming that if he was going to go away, he would at least go somewhere where he could continue practicing his cheer moves, seeing as she wouldn't be able to supervise him any longer.

They decided to look for schools that were strong in sport in general, since those would also have the highest possibility of having a cheerleading squad, which was Taiga's only requirement. They found quite a few schools that had everything they were looking for but then, when they looked up their entry requirements, their option list was severely shortened, much to Alex's annoyance. In the end, they decide on a new school which had only opened a year ago and tough that meant their sports program probably wouldn't be all that good, Alex managed to dug up a video of one of their cheerleading squad's presentation. And wasn't that a surprise.

The fact that the school even _had_ a squad to begin with had been both surprising and a bit awe-inspiring if Taiga was being honest. Their squad was good. They all seemed to have a solid knowledge of the basics and although they didn't have any flashy moves or signature stunts, they more than made up for it with their dedication and their obvious joy at just being able to stand where they were. So Taiga applied to the school after clearing it with his father, who obviously hadn't done such a through search like he and Alex had. He wouldn't have allowed Taiga to go there if he had found out that the school actually _had_ a cheerleading squad, since that was the main reasoning for him moving across the goddamn _planet_.

Taiga just took his applicant's form already signed by his father and tried to no to let his glee at having one upped his dad show on his face.

A few days later Taiga received his acceptance letter by mail. The school's administration had been really accommodating of his peculiar situation and had done everything they could to hurry the process up. So Taiga would be able to attend the school along with the other students who had already been enrolled as soon as it started

After a teary goodbye at the airport from his mother and being almost choked to death by means of Alex's hug - his father had just nodded to him as Taiga and his mother made their way out of the house to head for the airport, the bastard – the redhead bordered his plane to Tokyo, gripping his backpack's strap with enough force to make his knuckles turn white and feeling dread begin to pool at the base of his stomach.

Seirin High better be worth it.

* * *

Taiga's first impression of his new school is not a particular good one. The whole courtyard resembles more a battlefield than it does an actual school and Taiga regrets ever choosing Seirin as soon as he steps into the crowd.

The redhead tries to fight his way through the gaggle of students, some of them who are just as lost as him, looking around with wide, terrified eyes and some others who are waving flyers their way, shouting and screaming in a fruitless effort to be heard over the mishmash of voices. Taiga scowls as a second-year trusts an arm right in his face, offering him a flyer and a smile, inviting him to join some club or other. As soon as his eyes land on the redhead's fierce scowl though, the other teen pales and starts stuttering out an apology. Taiga just keeps on walking, trying to avoid getting hit in the face with more flyers, which proves not to be that difficult given his above-average height and the way his glares make everyone who meets them scramble to get out of his way.

"Join the cheerleading squad! We do splits better than the bananas!"

Taiga cringes at the bad pun but wipes around nonetheless, trying to look over the top of the student's heads and spot the one who had been advertising the cheerleading squad. He follows to worsening string of puns till he comes across three guys who are trying to get people to accept their flyers. And failing miserably at it, if the way the student's were giving them a wide berth is anything to go by.

"Man, coach's gonna give us hell if we don't managed to get at least one student interested," says the one with brown hair and a weird shaped mouth, "and I think your puns are just driving them away more, Izuki." This is said with a sidelong glance to the shorter dark-haired boy who has the gal to look offended.

Taiga straightens his back and makes his way over to them, silently praying that what is going to come out of his mouth can pass for polite Japanese. "Excuse me," he clears his throat, "I wanted to-"

"If you're looking for the basketball team, you'll want to head left," the brown haired guy offers with a smile. Taiga just stares in confusion and tries again, "Ah, no, I actually wante-"

"My bad, sorry, the football team is recruiting at the gates." Taiga's brow twitches when the guy cuts him off once more, annoyance growing. He takes a deep breath and tries to force it down. He'll probably end up cheering besides the guy and it wouldn't do him well to start off with the wrong foot. So Taiga swallows the rude answer he had on the tip of his tongue and tries once again, "No, I want to-"

"Well then I'm pretty sure the judo club is still recruiting, so if you go right-"

Screw first impressions, thinks Taiga as he clamps a hand down on top of the annoying guys head and glares as him with narrowed eyes. The guy squeaks and stares up at him in what's probably apprehension, if not downright fear. His other two teammates are floundering behind them, clearly wanting to intervene but not knowing how.

"Look man, I'm sorry, whatever I did, I'm sorry, I just wanted to help, really man I-"

"If you would just shut up for a second," says Taiga; annoyance clear in his voice and the guy finally stops babbling, "I want to join the cheerleading squad, you idiot."

"You what?!" both the brown haired guy and the one who said all the bad cheerleading puns scream at the same time. Taiga tries to fight off his scowl as he grits his teeth and looks at them, not offering any answer. He has made his point plenty clear already.

"You're serious about this? This is not a joke?" asks the bad-pun guy as he shares looks of surprise and what Taiga thinks may be hope with both his teammates.

"It's not a joke," says Taiga, "I really want to join the cheerleading squad, so just point me to where I can sign up, or better yet, take me there," at the three teens bewildered stares Taiga hastily ads, "uh- please?"

There's a flurry of movement as the three guys get over their shock and start talking excitedly over each other as they shepherd him trough the crowd in search of their coach. Well two of the three talk, the tallest one just smiles at Taiga politely. Not that Taiga minds, since he can't even understand the better half of the conversation over the chattering crowd. He catches snippets of information from time to time when he's not fighting tooth and nail to take a fucking step because, _Jesus_ is this courtyard a battlefield.

"You don't look like a cheerleader man, I thought you would be a basketball player or something." Taiga doesn't know which of the two guys says that but he knows it's true. His body build is not exactly cheerleading material, not even for a thrower. He'd had to have more upper strength than he does to do that, not that he has any problems with cheering in that position, mind you. He _can_ function as a thrower, it's just that doesn't _look_ like one, not like the tall guy at his left does for example.

Taiga had always concentrated more on jumps and stunts when he was just starting, thinking they were cooler and flashier. But after Alex had him throwing Tatsuya up in the air nonstop for about a week he realized just how much _fun_ it could be. Tatsuya had come out worse for wear after those kinds of practices though and absolutely refused to let Taiga practice throwing with him again. So, although Taiga knew the technique and a few tricks that he had picked up over time to help him make up for his not so great arm muscle, he had never found anyone willing to be his flyer and practice with him.

The four of them emerge from the crowd, all a bit ruffled and stumbling over their feet. At the other side of the schoolyard there are a bunch of tables set up against the wall. The brown haired teen that's introduced himself as Koganei leads him to the table farthest from the entrance, looking almost secluded form the rest. Taiga's not really surprised to see that all the tables belonging to the sports teams have long lines of freshmen wanting to sign up. At the cheerleading table though, there's only two people, both who're managing the admissions.

They make their way over to them and Izuki, who hasn't stopped spewing cheerleading related puns since they met, pushes him down to sit in the chair in front of the table. Koganei puts both hands over his shoulders and declares, "Coach look what I found!"

Taiga scowls and looks over his shoulder to glare at Koganei, "Oi! I'm not a what and you didn't find me either!" The teen blanches and steps to hide behind Mitobe, the silent guy who's almost as tall as Taiga himself. Izuki holds his hands up, "Keep your claws on." Taiga just turns his glare to the black haired boy and opens his mouth to retort when the guy at the other side of the table interrupts him.

"Stop it, you brats," says the teen that's sitting in front of Taiga as he glares at them all. "You looking to join?" he directs the question at Taiga.

The redhead nods firmly and holds the older teen's stare. There's a cough to his right and Taiga turns to look at the girl. She's got short brown hair and she's smiling at him politely but something in her eyes, the calculating glance maybe or the way she seems to be cataloguing everything about him reminds Taiga of Alex. He shudders at the thought.

"We'd be happy to have you on the squad," she passes him a form and a pen for him to sign, "My name's Aida Riko and I'm the coach of the team," here she pauses and looks at him, as if expecting him to challenge her claim or something but Taiga has trained under Alex and he still remembers the girls on his squad back in LA. He has no right to doubt her, even less so if she was to one who got the squad so far into the tournament last year. Besides, Taiga has had his fair share of being judged it would be a total dick move of him if he did the same to anyone else. Taiga could be rude, yes, but he wasn't an asshole. So he stays silent, nods and waits for her to continue. Riko gives him an appraising look, which makes him feel as if he has passed some kind of test – a feeling he's admittedly not very familiar with. "This is Hyuuga Junpei," she gestures over to the guy on her right. "He's the captain." The guy just grunts at him. "Auditions are next week, we'll see you then."

Taiga nods his thanks, knowing he should probably give her some kind of verbal answer but not trusting his Japanese to be polite enough as not to offend her. So he stands up, waves goodbye to the assorted squad members and plunges back into the crowd, which only seems to have grown bigger and hungrier for blood.

As the redhead makes his way to the school building where there are thankfully less people and he can finally walk without fighting for every inch of space, Taiga feels himself bump into someone. Bewildered he looks around to try and find the student he crashed into and apologize but his gaze meets no one. He frowns in confusion but decides to let it go after a few seconds of looking around and coming up empty and goes in search for his classroom instead.

A few steps behind him, a blue-haired boy leaves a signed admission form on top of Taiga's and promptly leaves without having anyone notice him.

And if someone were to ask Taiga to point out where his life went from borderline normal to Twilight Zone levels of _what the actual fuck_ that would be it, really.

* * *

It takes roughly only one week of training with his new teammates for Taiga to realize that the whole of Seirin's Male Cheerleading Squad is completely batshit _crazy._

They all have incredible resolve and dedication, that's for sure and their drive puts many other teams to shame. Much like Taiga himself, many –if not all of them - have also been subjected to bullying and relentless teasing for their love of cheerleading, but in the end it had only made them stronger and sparked a hunger to prove themselves to others.

Though maybe they have taken that last part a bit too seriously.

This, Taiga learns when coach makes the first years climb to the school's roof and chant their names in rhyme as the _whole fucking student body_ listens from down below.

The bet about confessing to your crush naked if they don't become Japan's best by the end of the year puts the last nail on the coffin, as far as Taiga's concerned.

The coach, Riko, can't dance to safe her life. Her shouts though, are a different matter altogether, they are on par with _his._ According to Hyuuga, she had grown up in the gym her father owned, so she knew exactly where and how to push. And push she did. Taiga hadn't even known cheerleading could _be_ that exhausting. Her training menus were downright _insane._ The redhead had really thought that there wasn't anything harder than training under Alex. He had been so very, very wrong.

She ruled the squad with an iron fist, pushing everyone to their limits and leaving the pulling to their captain.

At first Taiga had had his doubt about Hyuuga. The brown haired teen had seemed unapproachable at first; something that Taiga knew from personal experience could make leading a team very hard. But what Taiga had assumed to be coldness at first, had actually been a steel-edged determination to always demand the best of everyone, which made trusting him to lead the squad very easily. Especially after he proved himself quite capable at cheering and chanting.

Then there was Izuki with his dreadful puns. The dark haired boy wasn't a very strong guy per se but he was _fast._ His agility enabled him to run around from one edge of the court to the other in the blink of an eye, all while doing cartwheels and backflips. His eagle eye –something which Taiga had laughed at when he first heard about it, not because of what it _did_ , since it had saved the squad an embarrassing number of times from committing mistakes, but because of the _name_. The lack of creativity and clichés-ness of it had Taiga heaving from laughter till Izuki's glare had shut him up. Then again, Taiga had heard some of his squad members talking about some sort of generation of miracles thing and considering the hilarity of _that_ name, Izuki had nothing to worry about.

Koganei and Mitobe, who Taiga had first met along with Izuki, were an odd pair, though they seemed to complement each other very well. The ever-silent Mitobe was a fantastic thrower and every time he would launch Koganei up in the air he would do it flawlessly, giving the brown haired boy the opportunity to pull off some really great air-stunts.

There were other four first years that joined the squad with Taiga. They began to compose their chants and became the base of their ground routine, some of them even beginning to practice as flyers.

All in all Seirin's squad was on the way to becoming a great team and, with the help of coach and the dedication every member seemed to posses, Taiga began to believe that could even reach their goal for that year and becoming the best in Japan, because cheerleading was all about _big_ and _flashy_ and _attention_ and they had all the potential to become just that.

Then of course, Taiga met Kuroko.

The blue haired _little shit_ managed to throw every single one of Taiga's concepts about cheerleading out of the fucking window in the span of a single conversation.

Taiga had been carrying his tray of burgers to an empty table he had spotted in the crowed Maji Burger, a fast food restaurant he went to after the audition for the cheerleading squad, in which he had done splendidly well, by the way. Taiga had managed to impress both coach and the captain with his ground stunts and his high jumps. And he had also managed to glimpse the skill set of his new squad members and the overall strength of the team, which had surpassed his expectations. Well, expect maybe for that weird, quite, blue-haired boy who had magically appeared after introductions and promptly scared the shit out of everyone in the gym and then embarrassed himself with his jumps, which didn't even reach above Taiga's shoulders and his weak shouts, which were a single step above a whispers, really and-

And who was sitting right in front of him.

Taiga spit out his burger in surprise, grabbing for the soda that the other boy offered him and chugging it down in one swallow. The blue haired boy just looked at him in sympathy.

"The fuck! What are you doing here?!" The boy other boy's expression remained completely nonplussed in the face of Taiga's outburst.

"I was already here when Kagami-kun sat down," explained the teen – Kuroko was it? Taiga really had not been paying that much attention to the boy's introduction. The redhead scowled at him. "There's no way, I've would seen you!"

"I have an uncommonly low presence," Kuroko – Taiga was pretty sure that was the teen's name – explained to him patiently, taking a sip from his own straw. "People usually don't' notice me." He offered with a smile that on anyone one would have looked condescending but just looked polite on him.

"That explains why you're so bad at cheerleading then," Taiga grimaced right after he opened his mouth. That had come out harsher than he had intended, but it was true nonetheless. Someone who didn't catch the attention of the crowd really wasn't cheerleading material. Kuroko continued to sip at his drink, if Taiga had offended him, he showed no signs of it, although the slight pinch in his brows spoke of annoyance. Taiga really couldn't blame him if that was the case.

"My style of cheerleading is different from what Kagami-kun is used to," Kuroko's voice was soft but it had an edge of resolve and confidence that made Taiga pause. "I only need the right opportunity to show it."

Taiga hesitated. Kuroko spoke without a silver of doubt but what he had seen at the audition, namely how the blue-haired boy had been left panting after just a few laps around the gym and how he failed to do simple ground stunts didn't really make it easy for Taiga to believe him. So he just grunted in acknowledgment and decided to save his judgment after he saw this supposed different style of cheerleading the teen spoke of.

They ate in silence after that, well Taiga ate. Kuroko just drank from his paper cup. The silence, surprisingly, wasn't awkward at all, but oddly comfortable.

After he had finished his food, Taiga stood up and picked up his empty tray. After throwing away his garbage, he headed for the door, unaware that Kuroko had been following him until the blue haired boy grabbed his arm. Taiga turned around and raised an eyebrow in question at the blue haired boy, who looked a bit ashamed.

"Would Kagami-kun like to see my style of cheerleading?" Kuroko asked, hands fidgeting self-consciously. "I don't like it when people underestimate me, but I have learned that actions usually do speak louder than words," his blue eyes were determined and Taiga was surprise to feel himself hesitating. Night had fallen while the two of them had been eating and he still had to take the bus to get home, but he was admittedly curious. Apparently, he was curious enough to follow after Kuroko as the quiet boy led him to an empty basketball court a few blocks down the restaurant when Taiga accepted the boy's offer.

Once they reached the court Kuroko took of his school jacket and asked Taiga politely to do the same. "I'll need a bit of help, if Kagami-kun doesn't mind." The redhead nodded warily, feeling more and more like he was wasting his time but still willing enough to give Kuroko the benefit of the doubt.

"I'll need Kagami-kun to be my thrower," Kuroko's voice was nothing if not resolved but Taiga immediately blanched at the request.

"You want me to what!?" Taiga spluttered. It took time for a flyer to be comfortable enough with a thrower as it was. Trust was essential between the two, since one had to believe in the other implicitly to catch them and not let them crash down to the floor and _die_. For Kuroko to ask Taiga to throw him after knowing him for less than a day only spoke to the other boy's insanity.

"I need Kagami-kun to throw me to be able to show him my style of cheerleading," repeated Kuroko looking at Taiga expectantly, an almost annoyed glint to his blue eyes.

"Are you even aware of what you're asking me, you complete idiot!?" Taiga screamed- he did a lot around Kuroko apparently - as he clamped a hand over Kuroko's head. "We've just met!"

Kuroko just looked up at him without flinching, even when Taiga squeezed his head harder. "I trust Kagami-kun," he said softly and Taiga felt himself starting to blush at his earnest and open expression. "But if Kagami-kun is to much of a coward to help then there's nothing I can do." Taiga's blush turned into a fierce scowl as he glared down at Kuroko, whose polite smile had turned into a teasing smirk

"Oi! I'm no chicken!"

"Then there's no problem," said Kuroko as he began to stretch his arms over his head. "Kagami-kun should hurry though, it's getting late."

Taiga opens his mouth to retort, frustration rising in his chest. Kuroko couldn't just _say_ those things. The amount of trust he was placing on Taiga was overwhelming and the redhead didn't even know what he had done in the first place to get it. So he said exactly as much.

Kuroko just looked at him, annoyance now clear on his face, as if _Taiga_ was the one who was being stupid. "I heard about Kagami-kun's goal, about how he wanted to be the best in Japan," the blue haired boy shrugged, "I want the same, but I know I can't do it alone so, will Kagami-kun be my thrower?" The question seemed loaded. The redhead instinctively knew that it held more meaning to it than it seemed at first glance but Taiga can't figure out exactly _what_. So he nodded and decided to ignore how he feels like he just has agreed to something much bigger than throwing someone up in the air when he sees Kuroko's lips quirk into a small smile and just concentrates on stretching well.

After a few minutes of warming up Taiga looks at Kuroko and signals him, silently telling him that he's ready. The other boy steps closer to him and Taiga puts his hands around the blue haired boy's waist and lifts him up till he's above Taiga's midriff. The redhead takes a few seconds to get used to the other boy's weight, so as to not over or underestimate the height of his throw and then he's launching Kuroko up in the air, turning so he's looking up at the sky to see whatever the teen wants him to see.

That proves to be a problem though, because Kuroko seems to have disappeared into the night sky. There's no sign of the boy anywhere and Taiga panics, thinking that he threw the boy to high or too out of course and Kuroko is probably dead on the ground right now and _god_ Taiga really shouldn't have accepted to go along with Kuroko's stupid plan, he shouldn't have said yes because now he's gone and _fucking killed Kuroko_ and-

A flash of blue catches Taigas attention just in time. He spots the boy still up in the air. He's in the high point of the thrown, arms held out in front of him. A second passes and then he's freefalling down to the ground, except he's _not_. Kuroko is twisting in the air, doing a backflip before turning it into a half split and then he's bursting into a high-level turn-around and Taiga's mouth is hanging open because he hadn't know such a thing was even _possible_. Kuroko is gliding through the air, blue hair ruffled by the wind and he's falling, falling _, falling_ and then-

Then he's landing in Taiga's outstretched arms, a small pleased smile adorning he's face, blue eyes alight with happiness and Taiga just- Taiga just stares because this boy has managed to single handedly defy all laws of physics. He's somehow disappeared into the night sky before catching his attention with a _motherfucking backflip_ and Taiga just - he can't believe this, can't believe _Kuroko._

"Thank you Kagami-kun," says Kuroko politely. Taiga is still in shock, so he just lets Kuroko slip from his arms and stares dumbfounded after the blue-haired as Kuroko goes to retrieve their jackets from a corner of the court.

"You-you, how in the hell, Kuroko?! That shouldn't be possible!" It really shouldn't, Taiga thinks almost hysterically. It should be even less possible seeing as they've _literally_ just met and it takes months, sometime even years, to build the kind of trust that Kuroko just basically threw at him out of nowhere and _what the actual fuck._

"Like I said, Kagami-kun," comes Kuroko's soft voice from behind him and Taiga turns to look at him, "We both want to become the best in Japan and I believe we could be, if we work together, we really could be." And Taiga believes it too, if only for a moment. What they just pulled has the potential to become so much better, to become so much _more_. And so when Kuroko extends his fist towards Taiga, the redhead wastes no time in bumping it with his own. There's no hesitance, no doubt, because Kuroko is smiling at him and Taiga is smiling back and they can _do_ this, between the two of them and with Seirin at their back they really _can_ become the best.

They leave the court together then, jackets slung over their backs, both of them grinning, their shoulders bumping as they walk, a promise between them and a whole world of opportunity ahead.

* * *

Taiga soon settles into an easy routine. He wakes up, he goes to class - which he apparently shares with Kuroko, something Taiga is ashamed to admit took him about three days to notice and then he only did when Kuroko asked to borrow a pen from him and made him scream in surprise. In his defense the blue haired boy had seriously understated just how low his presence was – he eats lunch with his squad members and then he heads to cheering practice and then promptly throws up whatever he had put in his stomach that day because Taiga is sure coach has a hidden sadistic streak no one else is aware of and she enjoys watching everyone suffer far too much.

The new Seirin squad begins to take shape a bit more everyday as they continue to practice. Taiga and Kuroko soon become a pair and begin practicing as thrower and flyer respectively under coach's watchful eyes. She gives him pointers on how to improve his throwing technique and teaches the both of them new stunts everyday. Taiga and Kuroko manage to pull them off after just a few tries and coach begins to up the level of difficulty. But then Taiga overpowers his throw _one time_ and Kuroko is suddenly flying through the air as everybody panics and runs around screaming till Mitobe catches Kuroko at the very last moment without saying a word and only the slight pinch in his brow giving away just how worried he had been. Kuroko glares at Taiga for the rest of practice as the redhead sulks. They work it out in the end though, when Taiga promises to buy Kuroko one on those vanilla shakes the other boy likes so much after and he can see how Kuroko forgives him as soon as he takes to first sip of his drink after practice is over.

After that coach decides to go back to the least dangerous techniques and has them both practicing with other squad members too. But every now and then, when coach lets them try a new stunt (and if she doesn't, well, there isn't actually a rule that forbids Taiga and Kuroko from practicing by themselves now, is there) and they manage to pull it off, Taiga would be left feeling lighter the whole day. Brimming with Happiness and a smile on his face no matter how hard he fought to wipe it away.

The redhead begins to improve his ground floor moves too. Coach gives him training exercises to gain more leg muscle so he becomes able to jump higher and stay on the air for longer. He starts taking pointers from Izuki, who can do five backflips back to back and not break a sweat. Later, Mitobe gives him advice on how to adjust the course of a throw, though Taiga needs to ask Koganei to translate that for him. Mitobe just doesn't speak and the brown haired boy seems to be the only one who understands his non-verbal communication.

The captain slowly warms up to the new recruits as well and he starts helping Kuroko with basic floor routines, which the blue haired boy sucks at, no offense. Taiga knows now that Kuroko's power lies in air stunts so he doesn't worry much, but seeing Kuroko sprawled all over the gym floor as Hyuuga frowns down at him and berates him has become the norm at Seirin (it also never fails to bring Taiga to tears of laughter). And then come the chant training sessions where Taiga learns that there is much more to it tan just shouting, as he had previously thought. Coach shows them the best way to regulate their breathing so that they'll be able to shout just as loud after doing a stunt and not lose their breath so quickly. Kuroko sucks at that too. The teen seems incapable of raising his voice above a whisper and when Taiga teases him about it all he gets in response is a bony elbow to the stomach and a _you'll need to find another flyer then, Kagami-kun_ which leaves a strange feeling in Taiga's stomach even though he _knows_ Kuroko's joking. The sudden thought of not having Kuroko as his flyers upsets him more than it should. Taiga decides to ignore it – just like he does to everything else that has do to with _feelings_ – and chases after Kuroko as the boy begins to leave.

And so Taiga makes friends and he gains a squad that seems more like a family everyday. Thoughts of America, his father, Tatsuya and all the hurt they used to bring start to take second place in Taiga's mind. Now the redhead needs to concentrate on getting better. He needs to improve if he wants to get his squad to the Interhigh. And now, when he gets home to a lonely apartment, it doesn't feel as cold as it used to when Taiga first arrived because he can spot one of Kuroko's shirts on his couch from where the blue haired boy left it after they had a bit of extra practice the day before and he has a note from coach hanging from his fridge, listing everything he needs to eat if he wants to gain more muscle and sometimes he gets a text from Izuki with his newfound pun about cheerleading. He has _friends_ now, Taiga realizes, he has a squad and a team and he feels like he _belongs_.

But then of course, Taiga learns that, as amazing as Kuroko could be, he also came with a disadvantage.

It was called _ex-teammates_.

"So this Generation of Miracles, they were your teammates?"

Taiga and Kuroko are walking towards to bus stop after their daily dinner at Maji Burger, both exhausted after a day of hard practice and itching to get home and just crash, but foregoing their usual dinner had seemed like sacrilege to Taiga so he had insisted they stick to their routine and Kuroko had accepted, already used to Taiga's stubbornness when it came to anything food related.

It's on their way back that Taiga brings the subject up. It had been nagging at him for quite some time now, seeing how his whole squad always talked about some sort of prodigies with hushed voices and sideway glances at Kuroko.

"Yes, Kagami-kun. I attended Teiko Middle School with the Generation of Miracles," there's an edge to Kuroko's voice that sounds strangely like sadness or maybe it's resignation, Taiga isn't sure, but he knows he doesn't like to hear it in Kuroko's voice either way. "One could even say they used to be my friends."

Taiga grimaces and fidgets with the ring that hangs from his neck. If Kuroko's relationship with these supposed prodigies was anything like the one he had with Tatsuya then the redhead could understand why the other boy had seemed so reluctant to talk about them. It had taken Taiga three vanilla shakes just to get Kuroko to admit that he knew the miracles and a promise of two more the next day for him to agree to talk about them.

"Why aren't you considered a miracle too?" asks Taiga, glancing sideways to see if the question had offended Kuroko, but the blue haired boy's expression remained blank as always. Although Taiga liked to believe that he had been getting better at reading Kuroko, the truth was that he still sucked at everything feeling-related. "I've seen you cheer and you're awesome at it. Besides, you were in the same year as them, weren't you?"

"It didn't matter," responds Kuroko, a little smile quirking at his lips, "Kagami-kun has seem me cheer, he should know by now that my style of cheerleading is very different form what's normal. All members of the generation had an individual skill that made them prodigies, but for all that their techniques were different, they were still eye-catching. Mine wasn't."

Taiga frowns but concedes that Kuroko has a point. Still, it doesn't sit right with him that the younger boy had been overlooked in such a way. As if knowing what Taiga had been thinking, Kuroko smiles at him and pats him on the arm.

"It doesn't bother me, Kagami-kun," his voice is sincere and Taiga feels his anger recede a little. "Besides, most of my style relies on not being seen. Having that sort of attention on me would have made it harder for it to work." Taiga just grunts in response but he feels his body relax as the last of his anger fades away. They continue walking for a bit, Kuroko sipping at his vanilla shake and Taiga deep in thought.

"So how good are they, really?" asks Taiga as he and Kuroko round a corner, breaking the silence that had settled over them. "I could beat them right?"

"At Kagami-kun's level right know, he doesn't stand a chance," comes Kuroko's answer, easy as you please. Taiga's brow twitches.

"Oi! What was that for, you bastard?!" Taiga shouts in anger, grabbing Kuroko by his head and forcing him to stop walking so he can glare at him more easily.

"I'm just stating a fact," Kuroko doesn't react at Taiga's outburst and just continues walking after swatting his hand away with a well place elbow to the redhead's stomach. "Right now Kagami-kun doesn't even reach their ankles in terms of skill." Taiga's annoyance is growing the more Kuroko keeps talking but it's the prospect of a challenge what has his blood boiling and his body itching in anticipation, not his indignation at Kuroko's dismissal of his abilities, although that hurts a bit too.

"Well then, I'll just have to get better!" says Taiga, voice full of determination because if there is something which Taiga just doesn't do, is back away from a challenge. He thrives in it. "I'll show you Kuroko, you little bastard. I'll beat the Generation of Miracles and become the best cheerleader in Japan, don't you dare doubt me!"

It was simple, as far as Taiga was concerned. If he had to beat those prodigies to reach the top and prove himself the best, then Taiga was more than happy to do it. The redhead walks ahead, back ramrod straight and head held high, all traces of fatigue gone from his silhouette.

Unknown to him, Kuroko smiles from a few steps behind him as he looks at the redhead's retreating form. "I have no doubt you will, Kagami-kun," whispers Kuroko before hurrying to catch up to the other boy, who's already standing at the bus stop and all but exuding determination and righteous purpose.

* * *

Taiga gets to meet the infamous Generation of Miracles sooner than he expected.

Well, he meets one of them at least and after _that_ he's not really sure he wants to meet the others if he's being honest.

They're in the middle of practice one day when coach comes running, all but banging the gym door open in her haste and holding up a piece of paper for all the squad to see.

"I got us a practice match!" she squeals. Somewhere in the background Hyuuga drops Koganei in shock and the brown haired boy falls to the ground in a heap of limbs. "Against who?" asks Izuki as everyone crowds closer to coach.

"It's against Kaijou!" there's complete silence for exactly five seconds before the whole squad erupts in a mix of shouts, some in excitement and some in horror. Taiga just stares around in confusion, not knowing what's brought on such a strong reaction from his team members, so he looks to Kuroko for answers.

"Kaijou is one of the strongest schools in terms of cheerleading right now, Kagami-kun," explains Kuroko without prompting and it's a bit weird how in sync they've become since they started practicing together, but it also leaves a warm feeling in Taiga's chest (something that the redhead always chooses to ignore because _feelings_.)

"Beside this year they have one of-" the rest of Kuroko's explanation is drowned out by several high-pitched giggles and the sound of laughter. The whole squad turns as one to the door of the gym, where the sound came form. There, right across the door, is a mass of screaming girls, all huddled around a blond teenager, who's laughing and grinning at all of them. He's wearing the uniform of another school and signing what appear to be autographs as the girls hand him more and more papers and notebooks.

"Is that-"

"Yeah, I think it is."

"Is it really true that he started cheering in his second year of Junior High?"

"No way! That's insane."

Taiga now has and inkling of whom this stranger may be. He's obviously a part of the Generation of Miracles, that at least Taiga knows, but he's not sure which one of them the blond actually is. Kuroko had told him the basics of their different skill sets but he had foregone any description of their physical appearance.

"KUROKOCCHI!" comes the sudden scream and then the blond is barreling over Kuroko and all but draping himself over the blue haired boy, who just sighs in resignation and doesn't even make an attempt to push to other boy off. Taiga scowls in displeasure as something in his chest tightens. _Ugh_ , he thinks as the feeling grows stronger when the blond tightens his arms around Kuroko, _feelings._

"Hello, Kise-kun." Kuroko's voice it's his usual deadpan but the blond doesn't seem to mind the aloofness of his tone

"I've missed you so much, Kurokocchi!" Continues the blond, ignoring Taiga and the rest of the squad completely. "When I heard my school was going to have a match against yours, I was so happy, but then I found out it's due to next week. But I couldn't wait that long to see you!"

Kuroko's face twists into a small smile as he pats the blond on his head, the gesture is full of fondness and it seems almost instinctual. Something inside of Taiga just snaps at that. Without thinking he stalks towards the pair and grabs Kuroko by the scruff of his shirt, pulling him away from the annoying blond. "Oi idiot, care to introduce the rest of us?" Kuroko twists around to stare at Taiga reproachfully but when the redhead doesn't let up he sighs and turns towards Kise again.

"Kise-kun, this is Kagami-kun, my teammate," says Kuroko, the blue haired boy pauses for a second before adding, "and my new thrower." At that Kise's eyes narrow and he turns a disbelieving glance at Kuroko.

"Him?! You chose him?" His voice is nearing a whine but there is an undercurrent of real annoyance hidden somewhere in it. "He doesn't look like much Kurokochi, you should have gone to Kaijou with me and then _I_ could have been your thrower."

Taiga bristles at the insult and it's only Kuroko's hand on his arm that keeps him from punching Kise right in the face.

"Just who do you think you are, huh bastard?" Taiga growls at the blond, who turns to stare at him, surprise written across his face. "You don't know who I am?" asks Kise with incredulity, the entitled asshole, which just serves to rile Taiga up even more.

"No, I don't, why should I?" Kise gasps at his answer and lays a hand over his heart dramatically. Kuroko roll his eyes. "But I'm the most popular teen model there is, and I'm part of the Generation of Miracles, the cheerleading prodigies. Everyone knows who I am!"

"Well, if you're such a prodigy why don't you show me just how good you are?" Taiga knows it's dumb of him to challenge the blond in such a way but he has been wanting to play against one of the miracles since he found out just whom they were. And Kise is here, this is his chance to see if they are really as good as everyone else seems to think.

"Are you seriously challenging me?" asks the blond, amusement dripping from his voice. The way his eyes barely settle on Taiga before drifting away is enough for the redhead to tell that Kise isn't taking him seriously _at all_.

"Yes, I am," grunts Taiga.

"Well then, I guess a could use a bit of a warm up," Kise answers him, "not that you'll be much of one, honestly."

"Bring it on, you bottle-blond bastard!"

"Bottle-blond?! My hair is perfectly natural, something I don't think your eyebrows are. I'll have fun wiping the floor with you now!"

"Let's see if you can!"

There's a cough somewhere to his left but Taiga is too busy shouting at Kise, who's screaming right back at him, to notice the younger boy who's trying to get his attention. At least until Kuroko's hand digs into his stomach with enough force to make him bend over in pain.

"Stop it, Kagami-kun," at Kise's smug look Kuroko turns to the blond, "that goes to you as well Kise-kun, you both are acting like children." Kise lets out an outraged yell and looks at Taiga, as if blaming him for making Kuroko upset, which fair enough, Taiga may have started this but the blond had done absolutely nothing to dissuade the situation.

"Besides, cheerleading is not a sport where you can play one-one against someone, your words are pointless." Kuroko is right of course, but that doesn't mean Taiga's anger is anything close to lessening.

"Kurokochi is right," says Kise, giving the boy an angelic smile that Taiga doesn't buy for a second, before he turns to look at Taiga, "but we have our practice match in a week, so we can settle this then."

Taiga nods in agreement, figuring he can wait a week to face the miracle, but then Kise's grin turns into a smirk and his golden eyes gain a mischievous spark. "We can make it even more interesting though," Kuroko gives the blond a suspicious look but Kise continues before the blue haired teen can interrupt him. "If I lose, I promise to leave Kurokochi alone but if I win, then Kurokochi has to transfer to Kaijou and become my flyer!"

"Kise-kun, I don't agree wit-"

"All right, blondie!" shouts Taiga, ignoring how everyone in the gym gasps and the way Kuroko is looking at him with wide eyes, his frustration and anger winning over any logical thought. "We won't lose!" Kise grins, brighter than the sun and looking exactly like the cat that got the cream.

He starts heading for the door, fangirls trailing after him in a daze, giving coach a wave as he passes her by. Just as he is stepping out into the schoolyard tough, he turns around and calls out, "I can't wait to have you on my team, Kurokochi!"

The door slams close and the whole team turns as one to stare at Taiga in disbelieve.

"What were you thinking, you complete idiot!" screams coach as she approaches him, murder in her eyes. "Don't you know how to keep your mouth shut?" Taiga winces; now that Kise is no longer there and his anger has abated he realizes just how stupid he had been, betting Kuroko away like that. He doesn't have the right to make that sort of decision, Taiga knows this, but at the moment all he had cared about was winning one over Kise. _God_ , he feels so stupid now.

He looks around for Kuroko, intending to apologize to him, as coach and the captain continue to berate him. He spots him by the bleachers, tugging his jacket on and the sense of urgency in Taiga rises.

"I-I'm really sorry, coach, captain," stutters out the redhead, completely embarrassed now, but his thought are on Kuroko who's heading for the door. He really needs to apologize to him _right now._ He turns on his heels, ignoring everybody who calls after him to wait and the captain's promises of slow death as he sprints after Kuroko.

Taiga catches him by the water fountain. He reaches out before the boy can turn the corner and grabs Kuroko by his arm.

"Kuroko, I- I'm really sorry. I was an asshole and I shouldn't have done that, I- forgive me, please" his voice, which has gone progressively quieter as he speaks, ends almost in a whisper. Taiga can feel his hands shaking in mortification as Kuroko turns to look at him with a blank face, with makes Taiga wince, he _really_ fucked this up.

"No, Kagami-kun really shouldn't have done that," agrees Kuroko voice monotone, but then his lips quirk into a small, almost imperceptible smile, "but now we have even more reasons to win." He pats Taiga in the arm, more forcefully than he normally would and Taiga winces in pain, sure that he'll have bruises there tomorrow.

"I wont' be transferring to Kaijou, so Kagami-kun better start practicing, because if he doesn't hold up his end of our promise I will personally ensure that Kagami-kun won't be able to cheer for the rest of his life," the last part is said with absolute seriousness and the dangerous glint in Kuroko's eyes makes Taiga swallow loudly and nod frantically in agreement.

"Good, now let's go to Maji Burger," Kuroko turns around and Taiga follows after him in bewilderment, not quite believing that he got away with his previous stupidity so easily, "Kagami-kun will be buying all my vanilla shakes from now on."

Ah, thinks Taiga, there it is.

* * *

A week later, Seirin heads to Kaijou High School for their practice match. All of them are clad in their brand new red-and-white uniforms and brimming with excitement, although they are also nervous about facing off against such a strong school after just a few weeks of practicing together. Taiga, who hadn't been able to sleep well the night before, has deep bags under his eyes and he's more tired than normal. All his teammates have noticed, especially Kuroko, who takes great pleasure in teasing him about it. It all fades away as soon as his squad enters the gym and they see the other school practicing. Taiga now gets why Kaijou is called the Blue King. They sure have a lot of back up players and they all seem to be able to handle their own. They also have a ridiculous amount of top-of-the-line cheerleading equipment, which it's just _not fair_.

Kaijou's coach has managed to get a few of the neighborhood association cheerleaders to act as judges so that the winner could be elected fairly. There is a bit of tension when Riko introduces herself as the coach but that is quickly put aside when coach Takeuchi gets a look at the whole of Seirin, who is glaring at him and ready to come at coach's defense at a moments notice. They are given a bit of space by the right side of the gym to warm up and settle into before the real match starts.

Taiga is immediately offended when they find out that Kaijou only intends to use half the court, not deeming Seirin capable enough for their routine to need the whole gym. So Taiga takes a deep breath and promptly backflips into the net diving the court, taking it down with him in the process. He tries – and fails – to not look smug when Kaijou's players stare at him, jaws hanging open as the coach gives the order to expand to court. His squad grins at him. Izuki winks and Koganei gives him a thumbs up while the captain shakes his head in exasperation with a touch of fondness, but it's Kuroko's small, pleased smile that really makes Taiga preen.

Both captains flip a coin to see which times gets to present their routine first. Kaijou wins and Kasamatsu, their captain, gives the order for everyone to take position. It's then that Taiga understand what Kuroko meant when he said that the miracles where monsters.

Kise is the embodiment of cheerleading. He's graceful and cheery and charming all in one. He's also incredibly fast too. He can move with such agility that leaves everyone staring. He pulls off stunts that Taiga has only seen professionals do, all while chanting with the rest of his squad and not missing the beat for a single minute.

He also has no qualms about wearing a skirt apparently. All of Seirin had stared when Kise came out of the changing room wearing the blue skirt of Kaijou instead of their cheering-pants. Kuroko had patiently explained to them that that had also been a common occurrence back at Teiko and that Kise simply likes the skirt more than he does the male-uniform. It's not that Taiga had a problem with that. Like he had said, judgment was something he knew personally and he always tried to stick to what his mom had taught him when he was little: as long as it doesn't hurt anyone, everybody has the right to do whatever the fuck they want. And if Kise wanted to wear a skirt, then fine. What surprised Taiga was that wearing a skirt usually made it harder to pull some moves off, especially if you were a guy. Girls had time to get used to cheering but boys usually learned on the fly. That Kise was able to do some of those high-level stunts while wearing a _skirt_ only served to drive the point home that the blond really was a prodigy.

But it was the fact that Kise managed to perfectly copy one of Taiga's special backflips that Alex had personally adjusted for him, the one that he had been practicing when Kise paid them a visit last week, that made Taiga realize that the Generation of Miracles were really on a whole other level. But then, that just made Taiga want to beat them even more.

The match was brutal, not only because of Kise, although the blond was certainly the biggest threat, but the whole of Kaijou posed a challenge. They had an amazing routine and their ground floor stunts were absolutely _insane_. Still, Seirin wasn't giving up without a fight. They had had the time to find their strengths and they played them well. Their air routine had been perfected over the last few weeks and with Taiga and Kuroko's teamwork they somehow managed to impress the judges enough for them to declare Seirin the winner.

After the announcement both squads had been left in a stage of shock, neither team quite believing the outcome. But after the news sunk in, Seirin erupted in cheers and shouts of joy. They all crowd together in an effort to get everyone in a hug, tugging coach in when she approaches them from the benches. Hyuuga shakes Kasamatsu's hand and after a round of fist bumps with the rest of the Blue King's members they all head for the bus that's waiting for them to get them home.

But as Taiga is slowly getting used to, where Kuroko is concerned, he always needs to watch out for the unexpected. Apparently the excitement of that morning's match hadn't been enough for the blue-haired menace and the other boy had decided to go and look for trouble.

Taiga is eating with the rest of the squad in the restaurant coach took them to in celebration of their win against Kaijou when he notices Kuroko has disappeared. This is nothing unusual, Taiga is actually quite used to Kuroko's vanishing acts by now, but the teen had been sitting right beside him just a minute ago and now there's no trace of him _anywhere_ in the fucking restaurant. So Taiga stand ups, excuses himself to coach and goes in search for his wayward flyer.

After walking for a few blocks, Taiga spots a head of blue hair in a park near the restaurant. As he gets closer to Kuroko, he notices that the other boy is talking with Kise. Seeing the two of them together brings back that ugly feeling he had when he first saw the blond, but the redhead is determined to _not_ make a scene again. He's already embarrassed himself enough for a lifetime, so he takes a deep breath and unclenches his fists before making his way over to them. He (accidently) catches the end of their conversation as he approaches them.

"- time, he'll drift away, just like _he_ did Kurokocchi. Kagami will leave you too," comes Kise's voice, calm and sure.

Taiga hasn't heard the whole conversation, he really doesn't have the context, but it only takes that half-heard sentence to make him so undeniably _angry_. Taiga steps up to where Kuroko and Kise are standing and claps a hand over Kuroko's shoulder, startling the both of them.

"I'm not going anywhere," he growls at Kise, "so you better shut up." Kise narrows his eyes at him in annoyance.

"You have no idea what we're talking about, this doesn't concern you," says Kise, his usually cheerful face marred by a frown as he glares at Taiga.

"I'm pretty sure you were talking about me, so yeah I think it does," responds Taiga, fighting to keep his tone of voice under control and not escalate this into another shouting match.

"Kurokocchi, will you tell this idiot to leave?" Kise turns to looks to where Kuroko is standing but his eyes meet nothing. Taiga, who also hadn't noticed Kuroko was gone up until now, sighs in annoyance. That's the second time in twenty minutes that Kuroko has disappeared on him and Taiga is _really_ getting annoyed.

"Kurokochi where did you go?!" Kise shouts in alarm before looking at Taiga in question but the redhead is just as lost as Kise is. He just shrugs in response. He could have sworn the younger boy had been standing next to him just a second ago.

It's then that they hear Kuroko's oddly strained voice in the distance. They start walking in his direction, both with half a mind to yell at him for leaving them so suddenly when they spot Kuroko surrounded by five guys, who are all glaring at the small blue haired boy and looking ready to beat him up. Taiga and Kise look at each other in shock. Kuroko's ability for getting into trouble is off the fucking charts, thinks Taiga, before they both start to run.

"Oi! What the hell Kuroko?!" asks Taiga as he and Kise skid to a stop before the blue haired boy, both of them immediately forming a defensive wall between Kuroko and the thugs.

"What's this about Kurokocchi?" asks Kise as he eyes the five guys warily. Kuroko turns to look at them, eyes firm and expression serious. "These five were trying to bully those kids away from the court, Kise-kun" answers Kuroko and points to a group of children who are huddle together at the edge of the court. "I don't like bullies."

Kise looks at Taiga and they both share a moment of complete understanding mixed with aggravated exasperation at Kuroko before turning to the five bullies.

"Well then, I say we teach them not to mess with kids," says Taiga as he grins in Kise's direction. The blonde's smirk is answer enough for him and they both start advancing on the bullies, who are looking at them in amusement.

"You three punks think you can beat us?" says one of the five. "Don't make me laugh."

"Yeah, I recognize the blond one from some magazine," says another, voice mocking. " He's some sort of cheerleader star." That gets a laugh from the rest of his friends. Taiga sees Kise twitch, fingers curling into fists at his sides.

"A _cheerleader?_ I thought only girls did that, what a fag," Taiga feels the hot burn of his anger settled on his stomach as his face twist into a fierce snarl. He sees Kuroko's expression go stiff in anger before slipping into blankness, which is far more frightening that it has any right to be. Kise is practically vibrating in anger next to him.

"I bet his two friends over there are pussies too," comes a third voice and Taiga is beginning to see everything over a red haze.

"So are you fags too?"

Taiga's only answer is to punch the jerk right in the face. He sees Kise kick a guy into the stomach out of the corner of his eye as Kuroko drives his foot into a thirds guy's ribs. Anger is fueling all of them. There is nothing Taiga hates more than people belittling him for being a cheerleading and he's pretty sure both Kise and Kuroko agree with him.

Cheerleading has given them all enough agility and muscle to be able to hold their own in a fight and Taiga has survived LA's street for about ten years, so he is no stranger to street fights. Kise is fighting next to him and Taiga is honestly surprise at the blonde's lack of hesitance in a brawl. He had thought that with him being a model he would have been more careful not to injure himself, but that train of thought goes flying out of the window as soon as Taiga sees Kise take a punch to the stomach to gain an opening and kick one of the thugs on his ass. Kuroko is also a surprise. The blue haired teen is using his misdirection to it's fullest and flitting in and out of sight, circling the five bullies and waiting for the perfect opportunity to land deadly punches in their stomach or backs.

The fight is over in less than a minute and Taiga takes great pleasure in sending the five bullies running for the hills. He wipes a bit of sweat from his brow as he looks around to check on Kise and Kuroko. Both seem fine at first glance, only a few bruises here and there, so Taiga let's his body relax as his face splits into a satisfied grin. Between the three of them, the bullies hadn't stood a chance.

"That was amazing Kagamichi!" Kise comes bounding up to him and Taiga has to wonder where all the animosity between them went. Then again, beating five prejudiced assholes in a fight seems like a good way to get over their differences. Taiga himself is already feeling more partial towards Kise now that he has seen the blond break a guy's nose. "Where did you learn to fight like that?"

"I- uh, well, I was always the weird kid who liked cheerleading back in LA so I had to get used to fighting pretty quickly if I didn't want to get beat up," explains Taiga. Kise's eyes light up as he takes Taiga by the arm and starts pulling him in the direction of the street.

"You lived in LA? No way! You have to tell me all about it Kagamichi!" Taiga flounders for a moment, not knowing how to handle this new friendly Kise who's so different from the arrogant and dismissive one from before. He looks towards Kuroko for help but the blue haired teen just looks at both of them with a smile and a knowing glint in his blue eyes. Taiga looks back at Kise who's chattering on about all sort of things and looking happier than Taigas has seen him since they first met.

Kise is not so bad, Taiga decides as they're making their way out of the park. The blond keeps regaling him with a bunch of modeling stories, which are surprisingly hilarious and they bond over their different experiences with bullying and prejudiced jerks (which are all pretty much the same. Apparently geography isn't a deciding factor in people's levels of asshole-ness). Taiga could certainly get used to the blonde.

(He regrets every nice thing he ever said about Kise when he wakes up next morning to at least a dozens texts from an unknown number, although the alarming number of emojis makes it pretty clear who they're from. Taiga wonders just how the blonde got his number.

He suspects Kuroko.)

And so Taiga goes back to his routine – wake up, go to school, train, get the shit scared out of him by Kuroko at least once, go home, sleep and repeat.

Excepts now he also has a blond menace as a (reluctant) friend, who sometimes drops in to visit him and Kuroko. This, Taiga doesn't really mind, because after Kise found out about his and Kuroko's extra training sessions at the court behind Maji Burger, the blond decided he wanted to join in too. So now Taiga gets to practice his stunts with Kise, because as much as Kuroko shines when he's in the air, as soon as his feet hit the ground he becomes a complete _disaster_.

Kise gives him advice when he needs it, although he usually laughs at him first, and both of them start a sort of friendly competition to see who can pull off the coolest stunt of the day. Taiga doesn't realizes just how much cheering with Kise has helped him improve until he does a backflip/front jump combo the blond had taught him the week before and coach gapes at him before she stars demanding explanations.

So, yeah Taiga has befriended a miracle and it's not as bad as he first thought it would be. However that does _not_ mean that he is in any way, shape or form prepared for when he meets the next one.


	3. Chapter 3

As the Interhigh approaches, coach becomes more and more ruthless. Their training menus get harder and Kuroko no longer eats lunch because he says that he's gonna end up throwing it up anyways, so he might as well not even bother. Taiga is starting to wonder if he ought to do the same. It pays off though, seeing as Seirin has managed to win every single game since they started playing at the Interhigh.

It's actually when the whole squad is huddled together, exchanging high-fives and pats on the back after they are declared the winners in their match against Meijo High School that Taiga first meets Midorima.

The redhead turns around to give Kuroko a high five, brimming with joy and pride at another game well played and well _won_ , but he finds the space beside him empty and no blue-haired flyer in sight. Taiga, already used to such disappearances but somewhat still annoyed by them from time to time, just sighs and decides to let Kuroko be. That is until Koganei pats him on the shoulder and points towards the entrance of the gym, where a new squad – the orange uniforms make them hard to miss, Taiga wonders how he didn't them notice sooner– is just coming in. It only takes him a second to figure out why he was told to look that way. Kuroko is standing a few steps away from the squad, speaking to one of the players. The difference in height paints a hilarious picture and the situation is only made funnier by the fact that the guy Kuroko is talking to has green hair and what appears to be a wooden raccoon under his right arm.

Taiga recognizes the green-haired guy immediately. Not because of anything Kuroko may have told him but because of Kise, actually. The blond has no problem to talk (whine) about his ex-teammates and Taiga has heard plenty of Midorima Shintaro and his strange quirks to be able to recognize him.

Grinning, Taiga makes his way over to Kuroko and Midorima, for all purposes intending to challenge Midorima right then and there.

"Yo," he says as he comes to stand besides Kuroko, who turns to look at him, a suspicious look in his eyes. "You're Midorima right?"

"Yes," comes the stiff reply and the thrower slides his glasses up his nose with taped fingers, "and you are?"

Taiga laughs, because that right there is a _lie._ Midorima knows who Taiga is. Kise himself had told Taiga just last week how the green-haired teen had been asking about him and Kuroko. Well, Kise had _whined_ about how Midorima had called him only to berated him for losing to Kuroko and some brute – Taiga is maybe holding a grudge for that one, _maybe_ \- before asking for information about Taiga. Either way, the fact is that Midorima is a lying liar who _lies_ and Taiga is onto him.

"I'm Kagami Taiga," says the redhead as he extends a hand to Midorima, who looks at it suspiciously before reaching out to shake it, "but you already knew that, didn't you?" Instead of shaking the thrower's hand, Taiga grabs him by the wrist and turns it so that his palm is facing outward. He takes a pen from a bench nearby and scribbles his name on the green haired guy's hand as the other teen glares at him.

"There, now you won't forget me again." Taiga caps the pen with a flourish and smirks as Midorima flounders. He's getting better at handling the miracles with every new one he meets, he thinks smugly. Unfortunately, his amusement at Midorima's complete flabbergasted expression only last until Kuroko elbows him in the stomach and makes him grunt in pain.

"The hell Kuroko!" shouts Taiga as he turns to glare at the blue haired boy, whose only answer is to look at him reproachfully, "what was that for?"

"Kagami-kun was being rude," is Kuroko simple answer. He turns to look at Midorima and apologizes politely, "please forgive my teammate, Midorima-kun, he just want-"

"I didn't think you would lower yourself so much, Kuroko." Midorima's voice is full of scorn as he interrupts Kuroko and glares down at him from his (admittedly impressive) height. "To think you would choose to interact with such people and go to a no-name school instead of somewhere where you could use your abilities to their fullest, it makes me sick."

Kuroko's eyes narrow dangerously and Taiga hopes that with this new development he will be forgiven because frankly, having to apologize to Kuroko with vanilla shakes is really starting to thin out his wallet.

"Midorima-kun has already expressed his opinion about my choice of school and I don't have a problem with you making it known, but please, Midorima-kun, refrain from insulting my teammates." Kuroko's voice is edged in steel and Taiga can see how its coldness makes Midorima hesitate before he opens his mouth to retort.

"If you think you can beat me with your style of cheerleading then you are sorely mistaken, Kuroko. I know what you are trying to do, but your fate has already been decided. You won't be able to change my mind about this, nor will you change _his_. You will fail." Kuroko's hands are curling into fists and for once it's Taiga who lays a hand on the blue-haired teen's shoulder to keep the younger boy from losing his composure. Although Taiga wants to say his piece and put Midorima in his place too, he gets the feeling that there is something else, something deeper going on in this conversation he isn't privy too. So Taiga shuts his mouth and concentrates on keeping Kuroko from mauling his ex-teammate - not that he could if Kuroko actually put his mind to it, mind you.

"The match has not been played yet, Midorima-kun," says Kuroko, voice betraying nothing of the tension Taiga can see curled tight around his body. "You can't predict the outcome of a match, however much you might want to."

"Don't be foolish Kuroko, fate always favors those who-"

Taiga doesn't get to know just whom fate favors because a squad member of Midorima's chooses that exact moment to drape himself all over the green haired thrower, cutting Midorima off mid-sentence.

"Shin-chaaan," the black-haired guy whines in Midorima's ear, which makes to thrower wince and his face twist in an expression of disgust, "the captain is calling us. He also said to remind you that you only have two selfish wishes left."

"Die, Takao," mutters Midorima as he swats the other guy away. Taiga and Kuroko look at each other, caught between bewilderment and amusement but ultimately settling for horrified. "So mean, Shin-chan.," says the guy before sliding off Midorima and coming to stand beside him. He looks at Taiga for a moment before his grey eyes latch onto Kuroko with surprising accuracy. For someone who's supposed to be almost invisible, the Shuutoku player had spotted Kuroko immediately.

"You guys are from Seirin right?" at Taiga's nods the guy's grin grows wider, "we'll play each other when we win this match then." Taiga narrows his eyes at the _when_ , noticing it immediately. Either the guy was an arrogant jerk or he had absolute confidence in his squad – which, Taiga thought, wouldn't be surprising since they had a prodigy and that usually made everyone else in the squad think they could just relax, let the better player do everything and still come out the victors.

"Well then, we better go, Shin-chan. Miyaji-senpai is starting to look murderous over there," the guy – Takao, Taiga thinks that was what Midorima called him - says to the green-haired thrower, who had been alternating between glaring at Takao in annoyance and looking at Kuroko in disgusted reproach for the last part of the conversation. "Say goodbye to your friends."

"They are not my friends, you idiot!" comes Midorima's scandalized answer as he turns to follow Takao and pushes the other boy in the head, making his teammate stumble and look at Midorima with puppy eyes full of faux-hurt.

Once they are out of earshot Taiga turns to look at Kuroko, "what was that about?" Taiga is certainly curious; he has never seen Kuroko get so riled up by just a simple conversation. Kuroko just huffs and starts walking toward the changing rooms, leaving Taiga to follow after him.

"Midorima-kun and I always had different opinions back in Middle School and cheerleading was no exception." Kuroko's eyes are far away, lost in memories Taiga has no way to reach, "it appears that has not changed."

"Yeah, I gathered that," says Taiga as they round a corner, "but that wasn't just a disagreement, was it?"

"Sometimes Kagami-kun can be really clever," is Kuroko's only answer. Taiga splutters. "What do you mean _sometimes_?!"Kuroko just laughs. It's quiet and barely there but it's a laugh nonetheless and Taiga grins in response, proud that he was the one that made Kuroko react in such a way, especially when the blue haired boy is used to holding everything back. Still, he doesn't exactly appreciate being called dumb.

"Oi, Kuroko! Don't laugh at me, you bastard!"

Kuroko just keeps on walking, not paying Taiga any mind. The wariness that had tensed the flyer's body during his conversation with Midorima is gone now and Taiga really doesn't want to make Kuroko uncomfortable with any more questions but he's also _really curious_. This is the second time one of Kuroko's ex-teammates has mentioned someone else in a sort of vaguely ominous way, someone important to Kuroko obviously and Taiga wants to _know._ But then-

"Kagami-kun should hurry if he wants to get to Maji Burger before sundown," says Kuroko teasingly from the end of the hall and Taiga just lets it go. He'll give Kuroko time. He'll wait for the other boy to tell him when feels like it – and look at that, it seems like he's getting better at dealing with feelings (not his own, maybe, but he'll get there eventually). They still have to beat Shuutoku if they want to win the Interhigh and Taiga should really just concentrate on that and not on some ghost from Kuroko's past.

So he hurries to catch up to Kuroko who's waiting for him at the end of the hall near the changing rooms and pretends he's not burning with curiosity – and jealousy too, though Taiga pushes that feeling away. Like he said, he'll get there _eventually_.

* * *

Shuutoku wins their match and absolutely no one is surprised.

Unfortunately, Taiga hadn't been able to watch it, so he still isn't sure just what Midorima is capable of. Sure, the redhead is certain that the thrower had to be a prodigy to be part of the miracles but he still doesn't _why._ And, frustratingly enough, neither Kise nor Kuroko had been willing to enlighten him. Kuroko because he still didn't like talking about his ex-teammates. Although he had noticeably become much more comfortable around Kise, he even _smiled_ at the blond now. Both of them would sometimes walk down memory lane together and Taiga would learn a bit more about Kuroko and his ex-teammates. (That's also how he learned that Kuroko had actually been Kise's mentor back in Teiko and only Kuroko's threat of slow, painful death, which Taiga had no doubt the other boy was capable of carrying trough, managed to stop him from relentlessly teasing the blond about it).

For his part, Kise refused to tell him about Midorima's skills because, apparently, he wanted it to be a surprise and so could quote _enjoy his look of shock and horror live_ unquote.

So Seirin went to face King Shuutoku with Taiga having absolutely no idea what to expect. But, honestly, Taiga doubted that even having _known_ he would have been less surprised.

Midorima managed to turn the crude act of throwing someone up in the air into something so extraordinary elegant that everyone who watched the thrower in his element was left staring in awe. Seirin and Taiga included. The green-haired thrower had such precision and power behind his throws that his flyer had reached heights never known to man before. And that had been another shock because that flyer was actually _Takao_ – honestly, Taiga couldn't understand how Takao trusted someone who had shown him such disdain before to thrown him, nevertheless _catch_ him.

The two of them seemed perfectly in sync on the court and Takao's air stunts had surprised them all. They were all executed with precision and not a single finger had been out of place in his positions. That, paired with Midorima's accuracy, his use of some national-level throwing techniques and his ability to adapt his throws from anywhere on the court (which was extremely difficult seeing as normally every flyer had a fixed backup which diminished mobility, but something that the Shuutoku pair had foregone - and really, did Takao have a _death wish_ because Taiga was almost sure that he saw Midorima glaring at him in the middle of a throw, how could the flyer trust someone like that was beyond him) made them one of the greatest threats of the whole competition. And Taiga hated the fact that it made him doubt even for a second that Seirin could win this match.

Shuutoku in itself was also a threat. Even though it was clear that Midorima and Takao were their stars, much like he himself and Kuroko (Taiga cringed as soon as he made that comparison) the rest of their squad was amazing too. They focused a lot on ground floor routine and dance, leaving Midorima's and Takao's air stunts as their wildcard which was bound to impress the judges, especially when Takao seemed to rise form behind a pyramid, launched form behind by Midorima only to backflip into the front of the court. Taiga got why they called them one of the Kings.

Seirin had already been pretty intimidated before Shuutoku's presentation. The school reputation preceded them and the fact that this year they also had a miracle on the team made them even more frightening. So after watching them some of Taiga's teammates had almost given up on winning. It took Huuyga an entire motivational speech (and some of coach's slaps) to get them all out of their pessimism and regain their resolve, because even though Shuutoku's presentation had been amazing, nothing was decided till Seirin cheered too. Taiga was determined to become the best and if he needed to dethrone a King for that to happen, then so be it.

And it was that same determination that made him push his limits on the court, because a few seconds before their presentation came to an end, when Taiga was on one end of the court after a coordinated throw with Mitobe and their respective flyers and where he was _supposed_ to remain till the end of the routine he was struck by the thought that he had to do _more_. Seirin's presentation had been as good as Shuutoku's up until now, but that wasn't enough. It had to be _better. He_ had to be better if they wanted to win this match _._ So Taiga took a deep breath and started to run with all the energy he had left. He could do one more jump, thought Taiga as he sprinted past Furihata, just one. Even if his legs were aching and he himself was heaving from exhaustion.

So Taiga _ran._

He moved almost instinctively into a frontal jump, which then turned into a backflip and ended in a double hook. And just as the music and his teammates cheers were about to die down he spotted Kuroko running towards him. Taiga looked at the other boy and simply _understood._ There was no hesitation as Taiga grabbed Kuroko by his forearms and threw the flyer into the air where Kuroko disappeared for a moment before catching the whole's gym attention whit a double nine and then landing perfectly in Taiga's arms just as the music came to an end. The crowd grew still as Seirin's squad held their ending salute before the gym exploded in thunderous applause. The redhead saw his whole squad come together in a hug and he wasted no time in making his way over to them. Before he could join in on the celebration though, he felt someone catch the back of his uniform and haul him backwards. Taiga grunted in surprise before turning around to face his captain, who was glaring at him and Kuroko, who Hyuuga held on his other hand by the scruff of the blue-haired flyer's uniform.

"What were you two idiots thinking!?" shouted Hyuuga right at their faces, "that wasn't part of the routine!" Taiga just grinned at the senior, not feeling an ounce of regret and by the satisfied smile on Kuroko's face, Taiga knew the other teen felt exactly the same.

"We just wanted to win, captain," answered Taiga, "and I think it turned out all right cause-" suddenly Taiga felt his legs give out from under him and it was only Hyuuga's quick reflexes that saved him from crashing down to the floor.

"Kagami-kun are you alright?" he heard Kuroko ask him, voice laced with concern. Taiga's legs were all but killing him now that the adrenaline of the moment had passed but he still managed to give the other teen a small, weak smile. "Yeah, I'm fine. I just need to rest for a bit, I think."

"That last jump sequence must have taken a lot out of you," said Hyuuga grumpily, although his eyes were filled with worry too. "Kuroko, take Bakagami over there by the bench and don't let him move. I still need to get over the formalities with the other captain." Kuroko nodded, took Taiga by the arms and lead him to a bench nearby, careful to walk slowly.

"What Kagami-kun did at the end was amazing," said Kuroko softly once they were both seated at the bench and chugging down their water bottles. Taiga just grunted in acknowledgement as he tried to hide his blush by pretending to wipe his sweat away with a towel.

"It was nothing really," muttered the redhead, "I just figured we needed all the edge we could get if we wanted to win. And it was your air-stunt that gave the final surprise to the routine either way." Kuroko just looked at him intently for a moment before turning his head away, though not before Taiga caught him smiling.

"I wouldn't have been able to do it without Kagami-kun, though." Kuroko's face was flushed and he was fidgeting with his hands. Taiga figured the other boy was still reeling from the match's adrenaline. He reached out to drop a hand over Kuroko's head and ruffled his blue hair.

"It was both of us then," said Taiga before standing up, missing the way Kuroko's cheeks reddened with a blush. The redhead started to make his way over the rest of the squad, who were all huddle around coach and waiting for the winner's announcement.

"The captain told you not to move. Kagami-kun should listen to him," came Kuroko's slight reprimanding tone as he caught up to Taiga.

"I can't just sit there and do nothing Kuroko, not when we still don't know who the winner is." Besides, thought Taiga, his legs hurt less after the short break, even though when he took his first step they throbbed with a dull pain. The blue haired boy just sighed in surrender as they both made their way over to the others and waited for the announcement to be made.

As it turned out, they didn't need to wait for long because a few minutes later the judges approached the podium by the front of the gym and promptly declared Seirin the winner of the match.

They all erupted in cheers and shouts of joy as they exchanged hugs and high fives, all laughing in a mix of joy and disbelief because they just won against _Shuutoku_ , they had just won against a _miracle_ and Taiga had never been happier.

* * *

Nothing could go wrong now.

Taiga felt like cursing his past self for jinxing it when he found himself an hour after the match siting at a table in a restaurant with Kuroko, Midorima and Kise, who all had been glaring at each other for the past half an hour.

Maybe if I bang my head against the table I'll wake up from this nightmare, thought the redhead morosely as Midorima snapped something at Kise for the nth time that evening and it was only the plate of food in front of him that prevented him from doing just that as Kise whined in response. Kuroko looked at him and subtly pushed the plate way from him, the bastard. It was his entire fault really. They were his ex-teammates after all, so they were _his_ problem, even if he now thought of Kise as a friend.

"I still think being a thrower is not that cool Midorimacchi," said Kise. That caught Taiga's attention and he turned to glare at the blond. "Being in the front line is way more awesome!"

"Of course you would say that, you fool" came Midorima's answer; more akin to a snarl than a sentence by this point. "You don't have the skill for such a position either way."

Kise opened his mouth to retort but Taiga beat him to the punch. Mainly to stop the bickering that would surely follow but also because he was a bit annoyed at the blonde's comment too, seeing as Taiga himself cheered as a thrower.

"That's true," said Taiga and tried no to flinch when Kise turned to look at him with betrayed golden eyes. Taiga had learned soon after meeting the blond that Kise's kicked-puppy eyes could get him to agree to almost anything. Kuroko had developed a sort of immunity against the look (mostly form extended exposure) but even the expressionless boy caved sometimes.

"Throwing requires strong upper-muscles and trust between the thrower and the flyer," explained Taiga. "You are much better suited as a ground player and no offense, but I wouldn't trust you to catch me after an air stunt." Kise looked affronted but Taiga just grinned at him. The blond turned to look at Kuroko expectantly.

"You would let me be your thrower, wouldn't you Kurokocchi?!" Kuroko, who had refrained from partaking in the conversation, lifts his head from his food and looks at the blond, face completely blank and voice deadpan when he answers, "of course I would Kise-kun." Kise looked back at Taiga, face triumphant.

"You see Kagamicchi, I could so be a thrower!" Midorima's hand landed squarely behind Kise's head with an oddly satisfying _thud_ as the green haired thrower threw Kise a scathing look. "That was sarcasm, you airhead!" Kise turned wounded eyes to Kuroko who just looked at him, completely unapologetic, because at his core Kuroko would always, _always_ be a little shit. Midorima turned towards Kagami then and for the first time that evening his eyes are not filled with annoyance or disgust.

"You have a different throwing technique than normal," commented Midorima with an air of indifference but Taiga recognizes the gleam of curiosity in his green eyes. It's the same one always he has when Kise pulls off a new stunt and offers to teach it to him.

"Yeah," Taiga says as he tried to ignore how Kise was trying to cajole Kuroko into letting him try to practice throwing with him, "I don't have much back muscle. I've always been better at jumps, so my mentor taught me some tricks to help me with that."

"That explains it." At Taiga's confused expression Midorima continued, "I noticed that you use your legs to power your throw instead of your back or your arms," said Midorima and the redhead was surprised at how observant the green-haired miracle proved to be. People usually didn't notice such things. "Like I said, my power is in my legs so I use them to propel to flyer higher into the air." Taiga shrugged. He has been doing it that way since he started practicing throwing so he didn't know why it was so interesting to Midorima.

"That could certainly prove to be useful," notes Midorima. Taiga reached for another serving of rice as he offered, "I could teach you, if you like."

"I don't need your help," came the snide reply instantly and Midorima's hackles seemed to rise. "Just because you won one match doesn't mean you're better than me."

"I know that," answered Taiga and he meant it. Midorima is light-years ahead of him in what concerns throwing, but that just means that he has to get better, simple as that. "But that doesn't mean we can't help each other."

Taiga smiled at the other thrower, an idea beginning to take shape in his head. "How about this: I teach you how to use your legs more if you teach me how to adjust the course of the throw because the way you do it is just _insane_ man," Taiga offered and tried not to grin when he sees Midorima preen –he is _so_ becoming to miracle whisperer.

He really hopes the other teen will accept his offer. Kuroko had complained more than once about how he sometimes couldn't pull a move off because Taiga's throw had been too out of course and even though the redhead has tried to fixed it, he still can't quite get it right. Midorima's eyes narrowed in thought as he stares at Taiga intently, silently searching him for any ulterior motive. Finally the green-haired thrower nodded his head.

"Very well then, I accept your offer. " Taiga grinned at the polite response and shakes Midorima's hand. "Great, I usually practice in a basketball court after school, so we can meet there. Kuroko can give you the address." Midorima nodded again and he was about to say something when Kise interrupts him.

"Is Midorimacchi going to join us for practice then? That's great! It'll be just like middle school again." Faster than thought, Midorima wipes around to look at Taiga in accusation. "You didn't tell me _he_ would be there too!"

Taiga smirked at the flustered green haired thrower.

"Well, it's not like I can't get rid of him. Not for lack of trying though." Taiga gave Kise a shit-eating grin as the blond turned to look at him. He is about to talk, probably yell dramatically at Taiga, when an okonomiyaki came flying out of _fucking nowhere_ and landed smack down on top of Midorima's green hair. The restaurant grows deadly quiet as Midorima calmly stood up, cooked egg dripping into his face and made his way to a nearby table where he pulled Takao, who was looking at his thrower in horror (but also in barely concealed glee) up from his seat and hauled him towards the door, ignoring the flyer's desperate cries of _it was an accident Shin-chan I swear_ and _oh god please don't kill me I'm way too pretty to die a virgin_ as everyone in the restaurant stared after them. Before leaving the restaurant Midorima turned around, Takao still firmly held under his right arm and looked over at Taiga's table.

"I'll see the three of you soon then. Kuroko, please send me the address," said Midorima and then the thrower shut the door, cutting off Takao's desperate pleas for help.

Once the door closed behind the Shuutoku pair Taiga burst into fits of laughter alongside Kise, while Kuroko grins at them both.

"Oh man, practice is gonna be so much fun now," said Kise as he manages to regain his breathing and Taiga couldn't help but agree with him.

* * *

And that's how Taiga befriends his second miracle - he has a set now.

Midorima joins them for practice. First he shows up one day a week, and then he begins to come on Mondays and Thursdays too and soon after Taiga knows that if Midorima doesn't show up at the court behind Maji Burger he should probably call the cops. And start a search party.

The first time the green-haired thrower comes to practice he arrives atop a wooden rickshaw. He's siting with his back ramrod straight, all poise and elegance and completely unaware of the weirdness of the situation. The rickshaw is connected to a bike by a rod and to Taiga's horror he recognizes Takao as the one who's pedaling it. The poor black-haired flyer is heaving so hard he only manages an exhausted wave as a greeting before collapsing over the handlebars. Kuroko, Taiga and Kise are all staring at the scene in bewilderment with theirs jaws hanging open, not knowing how to react. Midorima hops gracefully from the rickshaw and makes his way over to them. He has a stuffed octopus under his right arm and all Taiga can do is stare as Midorima walks past them and says disapprovingly, "stop gaping, you fools. We need to practice and cancer is ranked first today so I'm prepared to wipe the floor with you all, I'll have you know."

It's the challenge that rouses Taiga out of his confusion induced stupor as he catches up to the thrower and begins stretching. He sees Kise shake his head one more time before the blond comes bounding up to them, brimming with excitement. Out of the corner of his eyes he spots Kuroko making sure Takao is alive. The blue haired boy is poking the other flyer on the arm and calling his name. When he gets a swat in return, proof of life, Kuroko turns around and comes to stand with the three of them.

"Midorima-kun, may I ask what Takao-kun has done to deserve such treatment?" asks Kuroko mildly while they are all stretching. Midorima just looks down at the blue-haired boy from where he's un-taping his fingers.

"It was not my idea if you must know," says Midorima. Taiga seriously doubts that. "Our coach suggested Takao take up biking to gain more leg muscle and I needed a quick way of getting around, so we made this mutually beneficial agreement."

Agreement my ass, thinks Taiga and by the looks on Kuroko's and Kise's faces they are all thinking along the same lines. Taiga holds his tongue though, he still needs to improve his throwing technique and Midorima is his best shot at it. Alienating him would be no help on the long run. So he shuts up and they start to practice.

And Taiga does improve. Under Midorima' careful directions (and scathing comments on his lack of worth as a thrower –something which had started more than one fight between them) he polishes his technique and learns new things to help him become a better thrower. Kuroko is pleased by all of this since he now is capable of doing more air-stunts than before. Their training goes without a hitch; apart from some bickering here and there they all get along pretty well. That is until Kise insists he wants to throw someone up too because he's feeling left out and Kuroko has one of his rare, weak moments and succumbs before Kise's puppy-eyes. Something that the blue haired flyer end up regretting since he ends up sprawled on the floor, covered in bruises from head to toe after Kise failed to catch him.

Takao comes by to join them sometimes too and Taiga learns the difference between a _real_ Midorima glare (often directed either at him or at Kise, although those had becomes rarer as time passed) and his _I'm–secretly-fond-of-you-but-there's-no-way-in-hell-I'm-gonna-admit-i_ t glare (this were almost always saved for when Takao landed in his arms after a throw and called him Shin-chan).

It is also Takao who insists they go grab a bite after practice, so they all pack into Maji Burger when they have finished training, trying to ignore how everybody is staring at them because really, they all make quite a picture, and talk about anything and nothing. Takao and Kise hit it off like a house on fire and Taiga fears for his sanity (and Midorima's heart) when Kise offers to teach the flyer how to cheer in a skirt.

At first they only go eat at Maji Burger when Takao comes to practice but once Taiga finds himself sitting with Kuroko, Midorima and Kise at a table, a mountain of burger in front of him and no Takao in sight, he knows instinctively that this has now become a part of their routine too.

Kuroko is happier too. Taiga notes the change immediately. Is not that the blue haired flyer hadn't been happy before, but there had always been something sad and dark in his blue eyes when he talked about his time in middle school or when Kise mentioned some of the other miracles. But now - now that look is almost gone, if not completely vanished.

Taiga notices the change in how Kuroko's disagreements with Midorima have none of that biting cold they used and now are simply discussions about the newest novel by some obscure author or some new documentary they both saw on TV. He notices it on how Kuroko now accepts Kise's tactile nature and no longer flinches or tries to get away when the blond hugs him. He notices it on how Kuroko and Takao gang up together to get Midorima to show them his dance moves (and that had been absolutely _hilarious_ – Taiga hadn't thought there could be someone stiffer at dancing than himself till he met the green-haired miracle). But most of all, he notices it when Kuroko smiles at him, soft and warm after practice one day when Taiga can still hear Kise's dramatic wails, Takao's laughter and Midorima's annoyed huff of fondness in the background.

Everything is falling into place and Taiga feels more content than ever. So it comes as a surprise when both Kise and Midorima corner him one day after practice, faces serious and tell him that they need to talk.

* * *

The five of them are walking towards the bus stop after their nightly dinner at Maji Burger when Taiga feels Kise grab him by the arm and hold him back. The redhead also notices Midorima slow down his pace to fall into step with the both of them. Kuroko and Takao, who are both laughing as Kuroko tells the dark-haired flyer stories about middle school Midorima, continue walking on ahead.

Taiga turns questioning eyes to Kise but the blond just shakes his head and nods his head towards the flyers that have just noticed that the other three have fallen behind. "You guys go on ahead okay?" says Kise; "we need to talk with Kagamicchi about something."

"Kise-kun-" starts to say Kuroko. His eyes have narrowed and he's looking between Kise and Midorima suspiciously but the green-haired thrower cuts in before Kuroko can finish. "Really, Kuroko, we just want to exchange tips on throwing technique." Taiga is confused because he was pretty sure they just did that like two hours ago. Then again, it's Midorima they're talking about and Taiga has come to expect weirdness when the other teen is involved. Still, that doesn't explain why Kise is coming too. Taiga thought they all had made it pretty clear to the blond that he was not allowed to throw anyone ever again after what happened with Kuroko.

The blue-haired teen is apparently thinking along the same lines as him because he still looks unsure. He opens his mouth to retort but Takao drapes himself over the shorter boy and begins pulling him away.

"Don't mind them, Tetsuya." Takao winks at Midorima as he speaks, "you were telling me about the time Shin-chan tried to play basketball, right?" Midorima turns red and begins to splutter, which just makes the two flyers laugh at him. "Yes, Takao-kun, I was." Kuroko smirks at Midorima as the two begin to walk away. The green-haired thrower is about to go after them but Kise gives him a sharp look and Midorima falters, he sighs and mutters something that Taiga doesn't quite hear but sounds a lot like _there goes my last scrap of dignity._

"What's this about then?" asks Taiga warily because he has never seen Kise look that serious before and Midorima's green eyes have turned steely. The miracles look at each other for a second before Midorima slides his glasses up his nose and begins, "there is one other miracle in the Tokyo region that you'll play against. His name is Aomine Daiki and he is, arguably, the more powerful of us all."

Taiga gapes. He had never thought Midorima could be capable of admitting there was someone better than him but the green-haired miracle had looked so resigned when he had said so that Taiga has no doubt that he actually _meant it_. Even more surprising is Kise's reaction though. The blond looks sad and dejected, his eyes are cast downwards and Taiga hates it. Kise is always, _always_ smiling and seeing him this way, like a mere shadow of himself, doesn't sit right with Taiga. So he puts a hand on the blonde's shoulder and shakes him. Hard. Kise flails for a bit before regaining his bearings and glaring at Taiga. The redhead can't help but grin at how his gold eyes look more annoyed now than sad.

"Well, I've always liked a challenge," says Taiga, and he means it. The best of the Generation of Miracles, he thinks, is surely going to be a though opponent to play against, but that just means victory will be all that sweeter. Midorima is glaring at him though. "This is a challenge you won't be able to overcome," the green-haired thrower says seriously. "Aomine was already a prodigy in middle school, he was the first one of us to earn that title. I can't imagine how much more he will have improved by now."

"That's true," says Kise and the haunted look is back in his eyes. "Aominecchi was incredible back then, now… I don't think Kagamicchi will be able to beat him."

"Oi, if all you wanted to tell me is that I won't be able to win, then you're wasting your time," says Taiga, more than annoyed by this point. "I beat the two of you assholes when no one believed I could do it, so don't come now saying I can't take another one of you miracles." That last part is so full of sarcasm he's expecting some sort of scathing retort from Midorima or at least an offended _you won once!_ from Kise but the miracles just look at him, unimpressed.

"You didn't win alone, idiot," says Midorima. "You had Seirin as your team and Kuroko as you flyer and _that_ is what makes this whole game even more impossible to win." Taiga just frowns in confusion. He didn't mean to imply that he alone had won. Of course he knew that without Kuroko and Seirin victory would have been impossible but he can't imagine any situation where having Kuroko as his flyer could be a disadvantage. At his obvious confusion Kise elaborates, "Aominecchi's style of cheerleading is very similar to yours Kagamicchi, but I think what Midorimacchi meant is that Aominecchi used to be Kurokocchi's thrower."

It clicks then. Aomine is the one the other miracles always spoke of in whispers; the one not even Kise seemed to like to talk about, Kuroko's supposed best friend. Something nasty settles in Taiga's chest and he feels anger rising up in him. So they don't think he's as good as Aomine, well then, he'll just have to prove them wrong because _Taiga_ is Kuroko thrower now, not some dick from middle school who Kuroko doesn't even mention. Besides, Taiga doesn't quite grasp how this could affect Kuroko, not when the blue-haired flyer had been so eager to face his other ex-teammates and he tells the other exactly that.

"It's because Aomine was also Kuroko's best friend, but what you don't know is that he was also the reason why Kuroko disappeared in middle school," says Midorima, but he corrects himself when Kise give him a reproachful look. "Fine, not the only reason, we played a part in that as well."

Taiga is even more confused now. "Kuroko disappeared? But he does that all the time?" says Taiga. Midorima hits him on the head. "Not like that, you idiot. I meant that he _actually_ disappeared. He stopped showing up to practice, no one could reach him, and no one knew where he was. I thought he had quit cheerleading altogether until I heard he had won a presentation against Kise."

"That's why I was so happy when I heard we would be playing a match against you," adds Kise. He's looking at Taiga but his eyes seem far away, "it was the first time I got see Kurokocchi since Teiko."

Taiga can't wrap his head around any of this. _Kuroko quit cheerleading?_ Taiga couldn't imagine what could have happened for the blue-haired flyer to quit playing something he clearly loved so much. He's still not sure he completely believes it.

"So he hasn't told you," Midorima's voice breaks through his confusion and Taiga shakes his head because he has _no idea_ what they're talking about. He's still hung up on the _Kuroko quit cheerleading_ part because it aches to think what could have happed if he hadn't met the blue-haired flyer. Someone he had only gotten to know because of the sport they both practiced. Taiga can't (won't) imagine what could have been.

"No, I have not told Kagami-kun."

Both Midorima and Kise flinch as they hear Kuroko's voice. The flyer had obviously been listening to their conversation, most likely using his lack of presence to eavesdrop and he is clearly not happy in the slightest about what he just heard. Kise tries to explain, voice gaining a sort of desperate edge, "Kurokocchi we just wanted to-"

"Let's go Kagami-kun," says Kuroko, his voice leaves no room for argument. The blue-haired flyer turns around, completely ignoring both Kise and Midorima and starts walking in the opposite direction. Kise looks resigned and heartbroken all at once and Taiga feels so helpless because he wants to help but he doesn't know _how_. Feelings still elude him for all that he thinks he's improved since coming to Japan. Midorima is looking at Kuroko with something that looks like regret, but Taiga doesn't think it's because of what he just told him. Takao is standing beside Midorima now, talking to him softly and Taiga knows that the flyer is more than capable of dealing with whatever is going through Midorima's head right now. The thrower is in good hands, so Taiga just nods and waves goodbye to them before following after Kuroko. He's still worried about Kise though, but his flyer is looking at him impatiently and Taiga figures he'll just call the blond later that night and check on him.

He has a million questions he's dying to ask Kuroko and by the looks of it the blue haired teen knows this. Once they're a few blocks away from the others the flyer turns to look at him. "I guess Kagami-kun would like to know why I disappeared in middle school." Taiga nods, figuring they can start there and make their way up to the more important questions, like _why exactly would Kuroko quit cheerleading_. He's still working in believing that one.

"It's a long story," says Kuroko as they come to stand in front of a grocery store. Taiga just looks at him and feels something like wariness settling into his stomach. Kuroko looks like he's heading into a battle, shoulders hunched and positions defensive. "We have time," answers the redhead as he looks down the street and thinks of the long way home.

Kuroko sighs and begins to speak.

* * *

"As Kagami-kun knows, my squad from Teiko gained a lot of popularity during our last year of middle school," begins Kuroko. His voice is calm but his eyes are a darker shade of blue, betraying the mix of emotions he won't let his face show. "People loved the idea of an invincible cheerleading squad full of prodigies. All but unstoppable on their own and completely unbeatable when together. What not many realized though, is that becoming invincible is not always a blessing."

Taiga agrees with Kuroko, he can't imagine that being the best would be fun. Of course that was his goal but Taiga had never thought, not even for a second, that he would become invincible. For him becoming the best just meant bigger challenges. Kuroko must see some of this train of thought reflected on his face because he smiles at him for a second, though it's weak attempt, before continuing his story.

"At first they were all pretty normal. That is, if you can count five middle schoolers dreaming of becoming cheerleaders normal, but as they each got better and better they also began to change, and not for the better I'm afraid." Kuroko's voice has turned sad now and Taiga has to hold himself back from ruffling the other's blue hair in an attempt at comfort. He knows Kuroko needs to get this off his chest and all he wants right now is for Taiga to listen, so he does.

"The media never showed how they were, how they became. All the magazines talked about were our victories and every scrap of gossip they could get." Now there's an undercurrent of bitterness in Kuroko's voice too and all Taiga can do is nod along. Of course the redhead had long since know that the prodigies were nothing like the public thought them to be.

Everyone talked about how Kise was the nicest, happiest person you could ever meet, forever cheerful and always smiling. They talked about how he was the next up-and-coming teen model, already making a name for himself in the fashion industry. But no one spoke of how the blond would sometimes lash out at everyone around him when he had a bad day or how he sometimes felt inferior compared to the other miracles and hated himself for it. Because no one knew that Kise had once confessed to Taiga that he sometimes hated modeling and the huge amount of stress it put on him, hated how he always had to be this perfect, manufactured mannequin. No one knew that Kise had often thought about quitting modeling but never actually gone trough with it because he still loved it, although it was becoming harder and harder to remember why.

Everybody talked about how Midorima was the absolute _worst_. They talked about how weird he was with all his strange quirks and his bad attitude and his arrogance. But no one spoke about how the green haired thrower made his little sister breakfast every morning, tucked her in bed every night without fail and let her ride on his back piggy-back style even when his back ached form countless hours of training. Because they didn't talk about how Midorima always made sure to bring Takao his lucky item for the day if his flyer's sign was ranked too low or how he would patiently help Taiga study for a test till late at night even though he had practice early in the morning.

Because they didn't talk about Kuroko – they didn't even _know_ about him - even when it was him who suffered the most during Teiko as Taiga found out.

"Among all of them, the first to show the potential of a prodigy was Aomine-kun." Taiga has to fight down the urge to scoff at the name. A cold, ugly feeling urging him to lash out in anger, but he holds his tongue and lets Kuroko speak. "Aomine-kun _lived_ for cheerleading. He loved the sport more than anyone and he had a drive that made him push himself past his own limits everyday. And so he improved faster than anyone else, he became _bette_ r than everyone else. When our last year of middle school came, there was no one who could beat him. That's when the changes started happening." Kuroko pauses his recounting as they round a corner, his eyes downcast, soon enough tough, he begins again "Because there was no one who could beat Aomine-kun, cheerleading soon became more and more boring as time passed. He quit trying as hard in our training sessions and soon after he stopped coming to practice all together. He said he just didn't see the point anymore." Kuroko's face is expressionless and it just makes Taiga's blood boil because he knows the flyer is hurting. _Of course_ he is. Who wouldn't be if your best friend and thrower just gave up on you? Aomine is an asshole. Taiga knows that with absolute certainty. If the so-called prodigy just left his flyer –if he left _Kuroko_ \- behind like that just because _he didn't see the point_ then Taiga would be more than happy to wipe the floor with him.

"And when the other miracles began to improve too, Teiko got not only one unstoppable player but an unbeatable team," says Kuroko and Taiga can imagine it. He has cheered with Kuroko and he has seen Kise and Midorima play. Just the three of them together would have made an impossibly frightening squad. With three other players on the same level as them Teiko would have been a _monster._ "Cheerleading was no longer fun for any of them, not with such weak opponents, so they figured that the only way to have fun during a routine was to play against each other. They began to keep track of how many stunts each of them did in a routine or who could shout the loudest. They played like their opponents weren't even _there_ and it made me sick."

It makes Taiga sick too. Showing such level of disrespect is one of the worst things you can do to another squad. And Taiga can't even imagine how Kuroko must have felt, having to watch his teammates do such horrible things and not being able to do anything to stop it.

Kuroko takes a deep breath and goes on, "for me the last straw was when they decided to forego the routine we had all prepared and just try and outdo each other. I had gotten injured during another presentation and had to go the infirmary so I didn't cheer in the match, though I did managed to catch the end of it." Kuroko looks at Taiga then and his blue eyes are full of hurt and repressed anger. "They weren't even _trying_ to make it look like a normal routine. It was very one for himself, a chaos of incredible jumps and stunning acrobatics. It was clear they were all playing separately but they _won_ either way." Kuroko sighs dejectedly, "of course they won, they were the Generation of Miracles, they were unbeatable." Kuroko's voice almost breaks then and this time Taiga doesn't hold back. He reaches out to pull the other teen into a one-armed hug and ruffles his blue hair. Kuroko just looks at him or rather, he looks _through_ him, still reliving the memory.

"The match they played was against the school were my childhood friend cheered at, after that game, he never spoke to me again." In that moment Taiga _hates_ Kise, he _hates_ Midorima, he _hates_ the whole fucking Generation of Miracles for making Kuroko feel like this, for making him go through something like that. "I quit cheerleading then. I couldn't continue to cheer if that was they way I would have to do it. So I quit." Taiga just pulls the blue-haired flyer closer. This time when Kuroko looks up his blue eyes are focused on him and the look on his face is nothing but determined.

"They had forgotten what cheerleading was all about. In believing themselves invincible they forgotten that cheerleading is meant to kindle feeling, they forgot that it is meant to create _emotion_ and the only way to get them to remember that again is to prove to them that they _can_ be beaten. That's why I joined Seirin and started cheering again and I'm ever so grateful that I did because I think both Kise-kun and Midorima-kun have already started to remember and it's all thanks to Kagami-kun." And then Kuroko smiles at him, honest and open in a way that it's never been before and Taiga's heart stutters and he thinks _oh._

 _Oh,_ because he's bad with feelings but not so abysmal that he won't recognize what this means, what this _is_.

He has so much he wants to tell Kuroko, he himself has so much to figure out but right now all he can do is extend a closed fist towards his flyer – and yeah, Kuroko is _his_ flyer now, just like Taiga is _Kuroko's_ thrower - and smile at him, trying to convey all he's feeling trough that small action alone. Red eyes meet blue as they bumps fists under the light of a streetlamp and Taiga thinks _this it it, it all comes down to this_ , because this right here is a promise. It's a promise to beat the rest of the Generation of Miracles and become the best in Japan; it's a promise to do it _together_ and if cheerleading is about creating emotion then this is as close as they can get to that outside of a court.


	4. Chapter 4

The next day, when Kuroko and Taiga show up at the court behind Maji Burger for their daily extra training session both Midorima and Kise are already there. As soon as they step through the fence Kise comes bounding up to Kuroko and throws himself at the shorter teen, apologies coming out of his mouth a mile a minute. Kuroko just huffs and pats Kise lightly on his blond head, a silent all is forgiven. Kise brightens immediately and detaches himself form the blue haired flyer to start stretching. Midorima coughs awkwardly from Kuroko's left and hands the teen a plastic cup with Maji's logo on it before blushing and turning around to follow after Kise. Kuroko takes a sip from his newly acquired vanilla shake and smiles. Taiga that figures everything is back to normal.

And it is, really. Taiga falls once again into his automatic routine. The only notable change is that coach has apparently decided they all need to up their training drills in preparation for their upcoming game and Taiga is pretty sure he is close to dying by this point. Apart form his sore muscles everything is looking up. Seirin's routine for the match against Toou is rapidly coming together and it looks _amazing._ They are pulling all their tricks for this one. Coach has them all go over the whole routine at least three times per practice and Taiga is ashamed to admit that he has caught himself more than once in the middle of a twist when he's walking around school while a whole group of girls stared in amusement and giggled at him. Taiga had to run and hide in the bathroom for the whole break before his blush receded. He _hates_ girls sometimes; they make him feel so self-conscious.

Which could explain why he reacted so badly when he met Momoi Satsuki. In his defense, no one had told him that managers could be so vicious.

* * *

Taiga is returning to the gym with the new floor mats coach had send him to get from the storage locker at the other day end of the school when he hears shouts of surprise coming from to gym where the rest of the squad is supposed to be practicing. _Supposed_ being the keyword seeing as what meets Taiga as he steps into the court is nothing short of chaos.

Coach is shouting her lungs out at Hyuuga while the captain tries to apologize for something. The first years are all whispering to each other, huddle in a corner while Izuki, Koganei and Mitobe all stare at something by the bleachers. That something turns out to be Kuroko, though it takes Taiga a few seconds to recognize his flyer since he is currently almost drowning in pink hair and boobs.

Taiga gapes for a second, not comprehending what the fuck is going on because he was gone for _maybe_ ten minutes tops, how the hell Kuroko manages to get into this sorts of situations so quickly is beyond him. But then Taiga sees that pink-haired girl rub her face on Kuroko's arm and all rational thought goes flying out the window, instinct taking their place.

The sound of the training mats hitting the floor startles everyone into attention, but it's too late to stop Taiga from marching over towards Kuroko and the enemy and promptly separate the two.

"Ouch!" exclaims the girl as Taiga pushes her away from the blue-haired teen, "what was that for? I was just saying hello to Tetsu-kun." Taiga snarls at the nickname. He knows, somewhere in the back of his head, that he is behaving like a rude jerk and he's crossing _so many_ lines right now it's not even funny but then again, so was this pesky girl when she went and tried to grab what was _his_ and- oh god, Taiga almost chokes on air, he needs to stop this line of thinking _right now_.

"Kagami-kun, please let go of my arm," says Kuroko and Taiga lets him go as if he had been burned. The blue-haired flyer is looking at him, eyes questioning but there's nothing in them to indicate that he's mad at Taiga and the redhead breathes out a sigh of relief. Somewhere in the gym he hears Izuki say to someone, "he really does live up to his name, doesn't he? He acted just like a tiger whose territory had been breached." Taiga swallows and tries to fight down his blush. He is _so_ not dealing with this shit right now, when he hasn't even begun to sort out his own jumble of feelings in regards to Kuroko.

"I- I'm really- ah, I'm sorry, um…" he stutters out. Taiga wants to kick himself for mumbling so much, scratch that, he wants to kick himself for everything he has done since steeping a foot into this godforsaken gym. It's like meeting Kise for the first time all over again. Taiga's grimaces as he recall that incident, he really needs to get his feelings under control, they have apparently been there for far too long.

The pink-haired girl's eyes are narrowed and she is staring intently at him, cataloguing every detail about him and it unnerves Taiga so much that he starts fidgeting. Finally she hums and gives him one last look and says, "you must be Kagami then." At Taiga's nod the girl's assessing look melts into a smile, although there's still an edge to it that prevents Taiga from calling it warm.

"You're forgiven Kagamin," she says, "but I still need to talk to Tetsu-kun in private so please give us a few minutes." Every instinct in his body is screaming at him that leaving the two of them alone is probably the biggest mistake he could make but he ignores it as hard as he can and just nods. After giving Kuroko one last look to which the blue haired teen responds with a small smile and a nod of his head, Taiga turns away and goes to stand with Izuki and Koganei. Both of them are barely holding back their laughter as they look at him. "Don't," growls Taiga as he sees Izuki opening his mouth, "just don't."

A few seconds later Taiga hears a high-pitched squeal from the other side of the gym and he sees the girl throw herself at Kuroko again. He grits his teeth to stop a growl from coming out.

"You're so screwed man," says Koganei, brown eyes full of amusement as he watches Taiga flinch when the girl plants a wet kiss on Kuroko's cheek.

Taiga sighs, that he is.

* * *

The girl turns out to be Momoi Satsuki, as Kuroko later informs him when they're heading towards Maji for their training session with Kise and Midorima, Teiko's cheerleading squad former manager, now Toou's, and Aomine's childhood friend.

She had apparently heard from someone (Taiga never doubts for a second that that someone is Kise, the blond gossips like no other) that Kuroko had found a new thrower and she had decided to check it out for herself. And also ask Kuroko out on a _date_ and Taiga is not relieved, not at all, when Kuroko tells him he has no interest in taking her up on her offer. No relief whatsoever. Either way Kuroko had invited her to watch them practice and Momoi had agreed. She would be meeting them after her own squad finished practicing.

When they reach the court Midorima is grumpier than usual so Taiga figures Takao hadn't been able to come today. He greets the miracles and sheds his school jacket before starting to stretch. The other three following suit.

Kise is in the middle of explaining a new stunt to him while Kuroko and Midorima practice throwing when Taiga hears the fence creak open. "Tetsu-kun! I'm here-" Momoi's voice cuts off mid-sentence and Taiga turns around to see the pink-haired girl staring at all of them with wide pink eyes. "Ki-chan? Midorin? What- what are you both doing here?"

She has been so obviously blindsided that Taiga has no doubt Kuroko (deliberately) forgot to mention the fact that their practice not only involved them, but the other two miracles too.

"Momocchi! You know I don't like you calling me that," the blond whines but there's a real smile curving his lips and he greets the bewildered pink-haired manager with a tight hug. Midorima and Kuroko also come to stand next to hear and the green-haired thrower gives her a polite nod of greeting. "It is good to see you Momoi-san, although I must say your presence hear is a surprise." Midorima has reverted to his formal self and his shoulders are tense in discomfort so Taiga drapes an arm over the others back and takes over the conversation, not missing how Midorima's body is slowly starting to relax –like he said, he is _so_ the miracle whisperer.

"She came by Seirin in the morning to check out the competition but she only caught the last part of our training," explains Taiga, seeing as Kuroko shows no signs of doing it himself, "so Kuroko invited her to watch us practice here." The redhead gives her a wave and what he hopes can pass as a smile – now that he knows Kuroko is not going to go on a date with her Taiga can be more civil (good god, he really need to sort of his feelings before they get too out of control, he is pathetic at this shit).

"Well then, if that's what she came here for we better get back to practice," says Midorima as he starts heading towards the center of the court. "Come on, Kagami, Kise, we still need to perfect that double stand."

"Huh, but I thought we already had it down?" comes Kise's question as he follows after Midorima and drags Taiga with him. "Your form is still too sloppy," is the green-haired throwers curt answer. Kise flails dramatically and the redhead just rolls his eyes in an almost automatic response. He drops a hand over Kise's blond hair and grabs Midorima by the arm, "stop it, you two. We can practice the new formation we saw on that video last week. I've been waiting all week for that."

"Very well, then," says Midorima and Taiga notes that he is clenching his fist in anticipation too. Kise is jumping up and down in excitement and the three of them waste no more time and get to practice. A few steps away from them Kuroko and Momoi are talking and Taiga is definitely not eavesdropping, he just has very good hearing, _really_.

"They-they are cheering together again," he hears Momoi say from somewhere behind Taiga as he and Midorima haul Kise up. "I had forgotten what it was like, seeing them practice with each other, I can't believe it." And Taiga understands her a bit better now. If she was Teiko's manager, then she was definitely there to see the miracles change and by the way she's talking, it had hurt her too. They had obviously been friends before, not only a manger and her players.

"Yes, both Kise and Midorima started to practice with us soon after Seirin won against them." Kuroko's voice is soft as he talks to Momoi. Taiga just adjusts his grip on Kise's foot as the blond prepares to jump. "I think they have started to remember why they loved cheering in the first place." Both throwers heave Kise up in the air and turn their heads upwards to watch the blond in the air.

Taiga joins hands with Midorima in preparation for Kise's landing as Momoi responds, "you think he will be able to go up against Aomine-kun?" Taiga misses Kuroko's answer because in that moment Kise comes crashing down on their arms but he hears Momoi answer, "I'd give anything to see Aomine-kun cheer like that again. I know Ki-chan would too." Taiga leaves that new information for later consideration as Midorima moves into a new position and Taiga follows suit.

"Kagami-kun has played a large part in making the others remember, so I think he can also help Aomine-kun," says Kuroko and Taiga has to fight down a blush. Kuroko has so much faith in him and the last thing Taiga wants to do is disappoint him. Making Aomine remember is obviously very important to him and although Taiga sometimes gets that ugly feeling when he thinks of how much Kuroko's former thrower matters to the blue-haired flyer, he will do everything is his power to defeat Aomine, not only for Kuroko but for Midorima and Kise too.

"I hope you're right, Tetsu-kun," murmurs Momoi, voice soft and hopeful. Taiga changes places with Midorima as Kise begins to run and gain momentum. "I really hope you're right."

Taiga and Midorima both grab Kise by his forearms and twist to launch the other into the air. Kise _flies_ and he's laughing, wild and free and Taiga can't help but join in. He hears Midorima chuckle behind him as they both move to catch the blond. Once Kise is safely back on ground, the blond drapes one arm over each thrower's shoulders and smiles at both of them.

"That was amazing! Let's do it again, this time higher though. I want to try fitting in a backflip too!" Taiga laughs and ruffles his blond hair. Midorima is looking thoughtful, probably already calculation trajectory and the like, but there's also a smile curving on his face.

"I thinks that's enough for today actually," comes Kuroko voice from behind and all three of them turn to look at the blue-haired boy.

"But Kurokocchi didn't you see that?!" Kise has pulled his best puppy-eyes and Taiga can see Kuroko falter against the onslaught of cuteness, "we need to do that again!"

"Truly Kuroko," says Midorima and Taiga finds it hilarious that the green-haired thrower says that just like Taigas used to say _but moooom_ when he was little, "we still have time. Maji Burger will stay open for two more hours at least." Taiga just grins when he sees Kuroko cave.

"Just one more time then," says the blue-haired flyer in resignation and Taiga has to hold back a laugh at the fact that Kuroko becomes a sort of mother-hen when they all get together– probably for the best too, seeing as sometimes Kise and Taiga can go overboard and new throwing techniques are always a sure way to get Midorima to go along with whatever Taiga and the blond have come up with, so the green-haired thrower is usually part of the chaos too. Kise cheers and Midorima smirks smugly to himself. Kuroko turns towards Taiga, "this is all your fault, Kagami-kun. I really hate you sometimes."

Taiga just grins down at him and says, "you shouldn't lie Kuroko. You know you love me."

As soon as the words come out Taiga immediately regrets ever opening his mouth. Kuroko's eyes widen fractionally and Taiga thinks he hears Kise snickering in the background. All Taiga can do is panic. He is such an idiot, god what was he _thinking?_ He really, really needs to stop embarrassing himself in front of Kuroko. But then his flyer smiles at him and Taiga sucks in a breath. Right now Taiga thinks he is the loveliest thing he has ever seen and _fuck him_ but he is so, _so_ screwed.

"Kagamicchi, c'mon," says Kise and Taiga has never been more grateful for Kise's over demanding nature. He stutters something out as he blushes redder than his hair and flees like the coward he is, hoping against hope that Kuroko will just let his strange reaction slide. Unfortunately, as he gives the blue-haired flyer a last look, he spots Momoi looking at him with a calculating gaze and clever pink eyes and knows instinctively that this hasn't gone unnoticed by the manager.

He really hates girls sometimes.

* * *

The night before the match against Toou sleeps doesn't come for Taiga. The redhead lays awake for hours, twisting and turning in his bed but sleep eludes him for hours. He plays candy crush on his phone till two in the morning - Kise had downloaded the app for him and Midorima a few days ago and although Taiga didn't particularly like the game, it was the only thing to do. Midorima had been completely captivated though and play it constantly until Takao had gotten annoyed by the lack of attention and deleted it, much to Midorima's annoyance.

In the morning he drinks three cups of coffee but Kuroko still laughs at his eye bags on the way to the gym where the Interning is taking place. The gym is full of people and the stands are packed. Taiga figures that is a common occurrence whenever a miracle is playing. Seirin heads to the corner of the court that's been assigned as theirs and they start to stretch. Everyone is decidedly nervous but there's also an edge of anticipation and excitement to it. They had managed to get this far and they truly believe that they can win this. They _have_ to win this.

On the other side of the court the gym doors open and the Toou Cheerleading Squad comes in. Everyone is immediately on alert, stopping what they're doing to get a look at their opponents instead. Taiga searches the members for Aomine, but no one fits the description Midorima had given him. He looks at Kuroko but his flyer has not looked away from where he's adjusting his black wristbands. His blue eyes are focused and his face determined and he gives no sign that he has noticed their opponents' arrival. Taiga bumps his shoulder lightly and the younger teen looks up at him before offering him a smile. Kuroko opens his mouth to speak but Momoi chooses that moment to bound up to them. The pink-haired girl wraps Kuroko in a hug, Taiga just waves at her. Right now is not the time for a jealous fit and Taiga has shoved all his feelings that are not his desire to win in a box and shoved it a dark corner far away into his mind.

"Hello Momoi-san," comes Kuroko's polite greeting, the pink-haired manager smiles at the boy. "Tetsu-kun, I just came to wish you good luck! You too, Kagamin," says Momoi. Taiga nods his thanks and tries to smile. He's still wary of her, even more so now that Kuroko had told him how good of an analyst she was. The redhead really doesn't want to get on her bad side, so he does his best to be polite.

"Are you all ready for the match?" asks Momoi and Kuroko nods in affirmation.

"Yes, we are all set, just waiting for the coin toss actually. How about you?"

The pink-haired girl grimaces and looks towards Toou's side of the court before sighing. "I wish I could say the same but Aomine-kun hasn't shown up yet and he's not answering any of my texts…"

Taiga wipes around at that, "you mean he's not coming?!" Momoi just shakes her head. "No, he'll come. He's been wanting to play against Tetsu-kun since he beat Ki-chan. He's just late," says Momoi.

Just then the judges call both captains forward for the coin toss and Momoi heads back towards the Toou bench. Taiga looks down at Kuroko, who's clenching and unclenching his fists and drops a hand over his blue head. "Stop worrying idiot. We'll win this, you'll see," says Taiga. Kuroko turns resolved blue eyes to him, "I have no doubt that we will, Kagami-kun." Taiga can't help but smiles because _this_ is the Kuroko he knows, one full of fire and determination.

A whistle blows in the distant and Hyuuga beckons the squad closer and says, "Toou won the coin toss but they decided to lest us present our routine first, apparently they're still waiting for one of their players." Taiga feels wariness settle into his stomach at the news, presenting their routine first has its advantages but it also has a few drawbacks. On one hand, the judges are a clean slate and every move they pull will be new and surprising. On the other hand, being last means leaving the judges the last impression. It's all fifty-fifty really, but up until now every time they had had to face a miracle, even in the practice match against Kaijou, they went last. There's something about the change that doesn't sit right with Taiga.

No matter, thinks Taiga as he and his quad members get into their starting position, they'll still win. The music starts and Taiga feels his heart beating in time with the rhythm. He moves almost on autopilot, he has practiced this so much he could do this in his sleep.

And so he cheers, he shouts and he dances. He jumps with all his might as he pulls stunt after stunt and the publics awe gasps just serve to keep him moving. He and Kuroko move in perfect sync, no hesitation and no doubt. Taiga looses track of time as he cheers, everything fading away until there's just instinct driving him and it's absolutely _perfect._ They make no mistakes; every single member of his squad is giving it their all and it shows. Their momentum just keeps increasing till they reach the climax of the routine. Kuroko climbs the human pyramid unseen until he reaches the top and then he's jumping and all eyes are on him where no one paid attention before. It's breathtaking and beautiful and it's completely Kuroko and Taiga thinks that's this is as great as it gets. The music comes to a stops and they all hold their salute for a few seconds as the public cheers before Taiga let's his arms fall to his sides. He's breathing hard and all his limbs ache but he's grinning. Their routine was flawless and there is _no way_ they won't win this.

Kuroko comes to stand next to him and Taiga is about to congratulate (or maybe even pull him in for a hug, not one of those manly hugs they share with the rest of the team but a _real_ hug, one that'll let him hold Kuroko for more than a few seconds) when a cold, mocking voice makes them both turn around.

"So this is what you've been doing all this time, huh Tetsu? After all the fuss you caused with Kise and Midorima I honestly expected better."

Taiga knows immediately who this is, the blue hair and dark skin are enough of a tell but it's actually the lazy, arrogant way the teen is looking at Kuroko, like he doesn't know why he even bothers to look at the other, that really drives the point home that Taiga is looking at Aomine Daiki. Taiga can feel Kuroko tense up behind him and when he looks at his flyer all signs of his earlier happiness have been replaced with wariness and something like sadness.

"Hello Aomine-kun." Kuroko's voice is flat and completely void of any emotion. It makes Taiga flinch because even though Kuroko is not a very forward person, Taiga had always been able to get at least an inkling of what the blue-haired boy was feeling. Now though, all of Kuroko's defenses are up and there is no telling what the other is thinking.

"Is this the style of cheerleading with which you expected to beat me?" continues Aomine. He is obviously laughing at Kuroko even if his face doesn't change from its bored expression. "I thought I had already told you Tetsu, you don't stand a chance, to only one who can beat me is _me."_

Taiga can't help the snort that comes out when he hears that awful line. The entitled asshole turns to look at him and Taiga scowls at him. "And you must be Tetsu's new thrower then," says Aomine, giving him a dismissive once-over. The redhead just grunts, he's trying very, very hard not to punch the jerk right in the middle of his smug face. He doesn't like how Kuroko had almost shut down as soon as he heard the other teen speak but he knows he can't get into a fight in the middle of a tournament, so he takes deep breaths and tries to keep his anger on a leash.

"What's it to you?" asks Taiga. "You're light is too dim," says Aomine in response. Taiga just stares in confusion because what does the asshole mean by his light? Is he insane?

"My what?"

Aomine just looks at him as if bothered with his question, "Your light, dumbass. Your skill level is not enough to draw Tetsu's full potential out. Tetsu should know better." Taiga bristles, partly because this fucking asshole has absolutely no right to talk about Kuroko that way, not when _he_ was the one who left the flyer in the first place, but also because he is completely putting Taiga's cheerleading skills down.

"Shut up, you fuckin-" Taiga cuts himself off when he feels Kuroko's hand on his arm and swallows the rest of his sentence. Aomine is smirking at him, one finger picking at his ear and looking easy as you please as if he hadn't just insulted Taiga.

"It's not worth it Kagami-kun, please don't get into a fight," says Kuroko and how the other can remains so calm Taiga can't even begin to understand. Taiga grumbles under his breath but decides to listen to Kuroko.

The blue-haired flyer turns to look at his former teammate. "I will prove that my style of cheerleading can beat you, Aomine-kun." With that Kuroko turns on his heels and starts walking away, leaving Taiga to follow after him. Still, the redhead hears Aomine laugh behind them, it's a mocking sound filled with arrogance and it makes Taiga's blood boil just to hear it. But there's nothing they can do about it now, they have already cheered, its Toou's turn now.

Taiga and Kuroko join Seirin at their bench and they all wait in tense silence for their opponents to begin their routine and try to impress the judges.

And impress them they do.

Toou is definitely skilled. All their players move seamlessly from one move to the other, doing coordinated stunts of national-level without batting an eye. Their chants are so loud Taiga can feel actual vibrations traveling through the floor. Their ground floor jumps are amazing and players seem to rise through the air almost non-stop. All Taiga can do is stare, he feels like he is six years old again, watching a squad cheer for the first time. Some of the thing Toou is doing shouldn't be possible, not for a high school squad at least, no matter how skilled.

And then there's Aomine and Taiga thinks he finally understands why the prodigies were named miracles because Aomine makes cheerleading look _easy_.

He runs faster than everyone else, jumps higher than everyone else and he twists and turns and pulls of moves that Taiga is not sure even have a _name._ Aomine Daiki is pure energy and agility and boundless potential. He's everything Taiga has ever wanted to be and Taiga hates him. He hates him because he's doing something he's only dreamed of doing while looking _bored_. He hates him because there is not an ounce of joy or happiness on his face, hates him because even while breaking all of Taiga's expectation with another formless jump he still looks like he's just going through the motions. Hates him because not once does Aomine open his mouth to cheer alongside his team. Taiga hates Aomine because after watching him cheer Taiga knows there is no way they are going to win, because Seirin was amazing but Aomine is invincible.

Toou's routine comes to an end and the whole gym grows impossibly quiet. It seems like everyone holds their breath for a second before exploding into applause at the same time. Taiga looks around at his team and they all look as defeated as he feels.

He's afraid of looking at Kuroko, terrified of what he'll see. It sinks in then. Seirin hasn't just lost, he failed Kuroko, failed him in the worst way possible and Taiga is not sure he can bear to look his flyer in the eye again. He feels something wet hit his cheek and brings a hand to his face to wipe away the tears of frustration rapidly before anyone can see them. He hears footsteps approaching their bench and forces himself to look up. Aomine is standing before Kuroko, looking down at him with an expression of anger and frustration and Taiga doesn't get it because Aomine just _won_ , they're the ones who should be feeling like that, not him.

"I told you Tetsu." Aomine's voice is cold but there is an undercurrent of frustration and resentment to it that makes Taiga pause, "the only one who can beat me is me." With that Aomine turns around and leaves. Somewhere in the back of his mind he notices Momoi approaching them with a disappointed expression on her face as she looks at him and Kuroko and then at Aomine. She says something to Kuroko that Taiga doesn't hear, too caught up in his won whirlwind of conflicting emotions. They just lost; Taiga knows this with absolute certainty. The judge's announcement is just a formality by this point. What's worse is that they didn't just loose, they were completely _crushed_ and Taiga can't bare the shame. He promised Kuroko he would win and now he's gone and _failed_. Taiga has never felt worse in his life, not even when he made his bet with Tatsuya, not even when he hugged his mother goodbye at the airport. Taiga is numb with shock; there was nothing he could do in the face of such sheer _power._ Aomine was so far ahead of him Taiga hadn't had any hope of catching up and god, how could he even think he could beat someone like _that?_

He follows the rest of his squad to the changing rooms in a daze. He changes into fresh clothes on autopilot and climbs onto the bus with the rest of his teammates with unfocused eyes. He barely even notices when they reach their school and it's coach who makes him stand up form his seat and get off the bus.

He doesn't speak to Kuroko on the whole way home.

(He doesn't deserve to.)

* * *

The next week is hell.

They loose both their next matches and are therefore out of the competition, their road in the Interhigh comes to an abrupt end faster than any of them would have imagined. Taiga's whole squad is completely off their game. They make countless mistakes; they stumble into one another and forget whole verses of their chants. There's an air of surrender around them now, their cheers come out as weak and disillusioned and the only kind of emotion they manage to transmit is one of defeat. It is no wonder they lose, really.

Both coach and the captain try to lift up their spirits, the latter with motivational speeches and Riko with threats of death by training and it actually works for a while. The first years get back on their feet quickly enough and Izuki goes back to making puns again. Koganei and Mitobe start practicing harder and even Kuroko gains back a bit of the fire he had lost after their match with Toou.

But Taiga can't get over their lost match and he knows he's the reason the squad looses hope again. He knows he's dragging his whole team down and he hates himself for it because he _can't stop it_.

Every time he sees Kuroko running towards him, gaining momentum for one of their signature stunts that are meant to be the highpoint of their routine, he hears those words again, _your skill level is not enough to draw Tetsu's full potential out._

They cling to him like a shadow, making him throw Kuroko too high or too low. They circle his mind, making him loose focus time and time again. They replay constantly in his head, making him stumble and crash into his teammates because Taiga knows it's true. He's not _enough_. He will never be enough. Not when he can imagine what a pair Kuroko and Aomine would make - had made, reminds him his treacherous mind, you're just a _replacement_ for him. You're a replacement and a bad one at that.

That realization brings a lifetime of insecurities to the forefront of his mind because he has _never_ been enough and this time is no different. He wasn't enough for his father who wanted a football player and not a cheerleader, he wasn't enough for Tatsuya to keep calling him brother and now he isn't enough for Kuroko. Taiga knows that he isn't what Kuroko needs him to be and it kills him because that's all he can _be_ right now. He needs to improve if he wants to defeat Aomine and fulfill his promise to the blue-haired flyer. He needs to be better to _deserve_ being Kuroko's thrower.

So he pulls away. It is better to keep his distance and avoid looking into pale blue eyes he _knows_ will be filled with disappointment. He'll get better first, then he'll ask for Kuroko's forgiveness and maybe the blue-haired flyer will want to cheer with him again.

So he stops talking to Kuroko and he stops coming to their daily practices at the court behind Maji Burger. He ignores Kise's incessant texts and when he gets home he deletes Midorima's many e-mails. He tries his best not pay attention to the blue-haired boy in class although it's one of the most difficult thing he has ever done because even though Kuroko may think himself invisible, Taiga's eyes always stray to him every time they are in a room together and his chest clenches every time he catches himself midway to ruffling Kuroko's hair.

Normal practice goes on but everyone is so dejected that training is all but useless, even coach doesn't yell at them for slacking off any more.

It takes the return of the Iron Heart to get the squad back up again.

* * *

They were in the middle of running half-hearted drills when the door to the gym opens and in comes a tall, broad-shouldered, brown-haired guy. All the second years immediately stop what they're doing and run excitedly towards the stranger, shouting greetings over each other while Taiga and the other first years look on in confusion. Taiga's first instinct is to look at Kuroko in question but he fights it down and listens to coach instead.

"Everyone!" calls Riko as she claps her hands together to gain their attention. She's smiling wide and Taiga hasn't seen her that happy since they lost to Toou, it certainly makes Taiga curious. "This is Kyoshi Teppei, a second year and former member of the Seirin cheerleading squad."

"Former?" asks Furihata and the guy – Kyoshi - smiles in self-replication as he rubs a hand over the back of his neck and says, "yes, I used to cheer for Seirin till I - ah, till I got myself injured during a routine and had to take a break." Taiga winces in sympathy.

He had once sprained his wrist back in LA and Alex had forbidden him from cheering for two weeks. Kyoshi's break had obviously been much longer than that if he hadn't been able to participate in the Interhigh. Taiga had gone almost insane form just that two weeks, he can't imagine how the other teen managed to bear it.

"It was not your fault," says the captain and there's something dark in his eyes. All the second-years nod along, faces grim and Taiga suspects there is more to Kyoshi's injury than he has let on, "and it doesn't matter anyways. The important thing is that you're back with us."

Kyoshi brings a hand to his heart as he looks at the captain. "I'm touched, Hyuuga. I didn't know you missed me that much," Kyoshi teases and Taiga prepares himself for the captains shouts. The only thing Hyuuga does though, is hit Kyoshi on the back of his head and frown at him, which by Hyuuga's standards is as close to a smile as one can get. "Just shut up and get to practice idiot."

Kyoshi smiles and takes off his jacket before joining the squad. Riko tells everyone to get back to their training and no one dares to contradict her so they do as they're told like obedient puppies and not an ounce of shame because of it.

Practice runs smoother than before, the second years are more motivated and it shows. Soon enough the chatter start up again and the redhead hears Furihata laugh at one of Izuki's puns. It almost feels like everything is back to normal again, except that coach calls both Taiga and Kuroko forward to demonstrate a stunt for Mitobe and Taiga promptly fucks up.

One moment he's as focused as one can be but then he sees Kuroko moving towards him at a run. He locks eyes with the flyer and everything freezes. Taiga is back at the Interhigh again and all he can hear is a cold, mocking laugh, his ear ringing from it. He almost messes up the timing but he catches the blue-haired teen's forearms at the last second and he launches the flyer high. _Too_ high apparently because Kuroko flails in surprise at the overpowered throw and looses momentum. He barely manages to do half a twist before he's falling down again and Taiga catches him with a flinch. He lets Kuroko go immediately and doesn't let his eyes stray to the flyer's face. He knows what he'll see already and he really doesn't need a reminder of his failure.

The gym is silent as everyone stares at them and Taiga just wants to _get out._ He wants to run away and never come back because he and Kuroko are supposed to be a pair, perfectly in sync, but now they're like a machine that's lost a piece and on the verge of breaking.

"Aren't you guys supposed to be our stars?" comes a voices from behind them and Taiga turns around to see Kyoshi looking at them in disappointment. "Because you really don't look like it, especially you," he says, pointing at Kuroko and that's something Taiga won't stand for. Even if he can't cheer with Kuroko right now there's still no way in hell he won't defend him.

"Shut up, asshole," growls Taiga and the silence that follows is so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Taiga ignores the warning looks his fellow freshmen shoot him and glares at Kyoshi. "You don't know shit about Kuroko and you have no right to talk about him like that."

Kyoshi just looks at him, "I'm just calling it like I see it, really," he smiles at him condescendingly. The redhead's anger grows. He steps towards Kyoshi till he's standing right before him and looks him right in the eyes. "Kuroko is the best flyer there is you bastard, don't you dare insult him!"

"So it's your fault that the stunt went sideways then," Kyoshi points out and Taiga growls lowly, "Of course it was not my fault, bastard-" it's an instinctive reaction to defend himself and he's ready to kick the guy's ass, returned hero or not, when he hears it again, a mocking laugh, _your skill level is not enough to draw Tetsu's full potential out_ and all the fight drains out of him in a single breath. His shoulders slump and he looks down, ashamed because it _is_ his fault and he needs to remember that so he can use the frustration it causes him to get better and get back to being Kuroko's thrower.

"I- yeah, it was my fault," Taiga says and turns to Kuroko, who's looking at him wide-eyed and still.

Taiga and forces himself to holds his gaze. "I'm sorry Kuroko," whispers Taiga and sorry doesn't even _begin_ to cover what's he's feeling but it's all he can manage right now with the rest of the squad listening in. "I'll get better, I promise I'll get better so I can be your thrower again. I know I already broke one promise but this one I'll keep for sure."

"Kagami-kun, I-" but Taiga doesn't stay to hear the rest of it because he's a coward and what cowards do best of _flee_. So he turns around, apologizes to coach and Kyoshi and leaves the gym as quickly as he can without seeming like he is running.

* * *

Taiga is in his apartment deleting yet another string of messages from Kise asking where he's been and demanding that he come to practice again while beating himself up for acting like a jerk to the new guy when he hears his doorbell ring.

Taiga gets up warily because it's ten and he has already paid that month's rent so he can't imagine why _anyone_ would be at his door this late at night. The doorbell rings again though and Taiga has no other choice but to answer the door. It's probably one of his neighbors asking to borrow something, he thinks as he grabs the doorknob and twists. When he opens the door though, there's no one there. Taiga looks up and down the corridor but they're empty as well. He shrugs and the redhead is about to close the door when a fist comes out of nowhere and punches him right in the stomach, making him double over in pain.

"Kagami-kun is an idiot," says Kuroko as he invites himself into Taiga's apartment, paying the redhead no mind as he clutches his side in pain.

"What did I do now?" grunts Taiga out as he forces himself to ignore the pain and close the door. Kuroko is standing in the middle of his living room, arms crossed over his chest and glaring at Taiga like he's a dog who has misbehaved. Taiga tries not to fidget under the blue-haired flyers intense stare. He fails miserably.

"Kagami-kun did not break his promise."

Taiga stares at Kuroko for a moment because out of all the things he had imagined the flyer would say this one was definitely not one of them. "Bu-but I did!" stutters Taiga, "I promised you I would defeat Aomine and it's quite clear I didn't!" Kuroko's blue eyes just narrow further as he takes a few steps closer to Taiga.

"No, Kagami-kun promised _we_ would defeat Aomine-kun _together._ You don't carry the blame for our loss, at least not alone. _I_ was your flyer in that match, I played a part too, don't forget that cheerleading is not a sport where you can win alone."

"That's not the point!" shouts Taiga and it is really and exercise in concentration that he manages to stay focused on their fight when Kuroko is standing so close to him. "I was too weak! I wasn't enough! I need to be better so I can become your thrower again and beat Aomine!"

Kuroko sighs harshly and takes a step closer to him until he's standing almost under Taiga's chin. "Being my thrower has nothing to do with what you _deserve_ , Kagami-kun. _I_ chose you as my thrower because I thought that if we played together we could be strong enough to defeat the Generation of Miracles. We're stronger together than we are apart." Kuroko fists his hands into Taiga's shirt and shakes him hard in a mix of anger and frustration. The redhead heart stutters at the other's boy proximity, "don't you understand that Kagami-kun? The only way to defeat my teammates is by cheering together and we made a promise to do so. _That_ is the promise I won't allow you to break."

Kuroko rests his head on Taiga's chest almost unconsciously and whispers in a tone of voice that's circling defeat, "you promised me we would do it together, Kagami-kun. Please don't become like them." And Taiga hears the unspoken _please don't leave me like them_ and feels his heart sink.

He is such an idiot. He's a _goddamn idiot who should already learn how to handle feelings._ He ran way to save himself some pain like a weakling and the only thing he managed to do was hurt _Kuroko_. Taiga feels disgusted with himself in that moment. How could he so stupid? How could he hurt Kuroko – _his flyer_ \- that way? How could he let Kuroko think that he was going to leave him behind just like that asshole Aomine did?

Taiga takes in a shaky breath and drops a hand over Kuroko's light blue hair and ruffles it like he has wanted to do for the past two weeks. Kuroko is still clutching his shirt to him and he's closer to him than he's been for the past two weeks, something in Taiga unclenches at that. He feels the tension that had been hounding him dissipate and warmth flood his whole body as he looks down at Kuroko.

"I'm really sorry Kuroko," murmurs Taiga quietly and hopes that the blue-haired teen can't hear how his heart trying to beat out of his chest with how close the other is. "I'm an idiot."

"Yes, Kagami-kun, I know," says Kuroko and when he looks up he's smiling, blue eyes bright with happiness and relief, something that Taiga knows his own red eyes mirror. Taiga feels himself starting to lean in towards Kuroko. It's a completely unconscious decision on his part and he's about to pull away when he feels Kuroko doing the same. They are so close now that they're sharing the same breath and Taiga can't _think_ because Kuroko is right there _._ He hears Kuroko sigh softly, he smells vanilla and then Kuroko closes his blue, _blue_ eyes. Taiga misses the color almost immediately but then Kuroko leans in the last few inches and-

A shrill beeping sound comes from Kuroko' pocket and makes both of them startle and jump away from each other in surprise. Taiga's face is burning as he blushes redder than his hair. What was thinking, doing something like that just after reconciling? Was he going to kiss Kuroko just now?

Yes he was, Taiga realizes and he feels dread sink into his stomach. Oh god, he thinks, oh god, oh god, _oh god,_ _oh god_ -

"Hello, Kise-kun," Kuroko's voice cuts thought Taiga's panic crazed brain as the other boy answers the phone. Kuroko gives shim an apologetic look. He seems completely calm and in control of himself, the total opposite of Taiga who's still panicking silently and having a mental breakdown as Kuroko smiles at him.

"Yes, I'm with Kagami-kun, right now," continues the blue-haired teen. "Yes, he's an idiot I know. Yes, Kise-kun, I'll make sure Kagami-kun comes to practice tomorrow." Kuroko begins blushing suddenly and he turns around quickly, hiding his face away from Taiga whose anxiety attack (because _holy shit he almost kissed Kuroko what the hell_ ) makes him miss the sudden change in demeanor. "No, Kise-kun, I have not told him because there is _nothing_ _to tell_. I'm not lying, Kise-kun please stop that. I will not do as you tell me, you're advice is useless. No, I- goodbye Kise-kun, see you tomorrow."

Kuroko turns around again and Taiga hears the click that means he's shut his phone off. "Well then, Kagami-kun. I'll be going home now," says Kuroko and Taiga breathes normally again because apparently they are going to ignore this then. And that's _fine._ That's what Taiga wants. He still needs to figure out his feeling by himself. So it's _fine._ He's not disappointed in the least. He's _not._

"Are you sure? You can sleep here with me," Taiga blurts out before he can stop himself and hastily tries to correct himself, "in the guest bedroom I mean! You, ah, you can sleep in the guest bedroom. It's pretty late already, so you know, you could, ah, you could crash here…" Kuroko stares at him for a moment, a small smirk curving his lips and Taiga silently curses himself and wonders if someone can actually die from embarrassment. If not, he'll make history tonight.

"Thank you Kagami-kun, I think I'll take you up on your offer," says Kuroko and Taiga gapes, brain trying to work though this change of events. Kuroko raise an eyebrow and Taiga springs into action.

"Great! I-ah, that's great," stutters the redhead as he leads Kuroko down the hallway and towards the guest bedroom. "You can sleep here, there, ah, there are some covers on the closet if you need them." Kuroko nods once before he turns to looks at Taiga again. "Is there something Kagami-kun can lend me to sleep in?"

The question is completely innocent in itself but it brings up some images in Taiga's mind that are really, _really_ inappropriate seeing as Kuroko is standing _right there_.

"Yeah, ah- I," Taiga swallows loudly, (Kuroko's small smirk is doing nothing to help this situation) and tries again. "I can find something. I'll bring them to you in a moment," and for the second time that day Taiga _flees_. He's actually becoming quite good at it.

Later that night, when Taiga lays in bed only a few meters away from Kuroko (who's _sleeping in his clothes_ \- and yeah not going there, no, nope) Taiga wonders what would've happen if Kise had called just a few seconds later. He's not sure is he wants to punch the blond or hug him.

(He's leaning towards punching right now.)

* * *

In the morning Taiga wakes up as always and starts to make breakfast for himself and Kuroko (after only a very, very minor freak out because, yeah Kuroko _did_ sleep in his house last night, no it was not a dream). About ten minutes later the blue-haired flyer comes into the kitchen, yawing and rubbing his eyes. Kuroko's barefoot, wearing the smallest pair of sweats Taiga could find (which still look hilariously big on Kuroko), an old shirt of his and suffering from the worst case of bedhead Taiga has ever seen. And he remembers Tatsuya's.

Kuroko takes a seat at the kitchen isle and gropes blindly for the mug of coffee Taiga sets before him. He smiles sleepily at him and murmurs a soft _good morning Kagami-kun_. Taiga almost burns the eggs.

They dress quickly after that and are out the door just in time to catch the last bus that'll take them to school on time. Class pass by in a blur and soon enough it's time for cheering practice.

Every one is in a good mood. Both coach and the captain are smiling more and it all seems thanks to Kyoshi. The brown-haired thrower has a calming, grounding presence on the squad and he's a _great_ player. This Taiga notices as soon as he sees Kyoshi perform a flawless straight throw and send Koganei flying through the air in a perfect course. The only bad thing Taiga can say about the guy is that he worries. Constantly. About _everything_.

The panicked gasps he lets out as Taiga and Kuroko do one of their stunts –which are thankfully back to normal now that they've talked things through - interrupt practice every few minutes and he always reminds everyone to be on alert when they are throwing someone up into the air, which is not a bad thing in itself really, because Seirin's routines can get pretty intense, but by the third time Kyoshi pauses their routine to make sure Furihata is okay after a simple backflip because he stumbled just a little Riko looks _this_ close to sending him back to the hospital.

The guy really takes being caring to a whole other level.

Still, it's thanks to him that Seirin it's back on its feet again and running like a well-oiled machine. And, if the conversation he overheard between him and Hyuuga is anything to go by, then the whole riling-Taiga-up thing had been apparently completely intentional too. It was just Kyoshi's way of telling Taiga and Kuroko to get their shit together. Which well, the end justifies the means and all that. (Though when he tells Kuroko this, the flyer just elbows him on the ribs tell him he's not allowed to quote The Prince ever again. Taiga just grunts in pain and confusion because _when did he ever mention a prince in the first place?_ )

Still, Taiga leaves practice feeling lighter than he has since the match against Aomine. The sun is shining; his muscles ache in a good way from all the hard practice and Kuroko's walking by his side, a quiet but comforting presence. Taiga can't help but smile all the way to Maji Burger, where apparently the fun ends.

" _YOU!"_

A blond blur comes barreling into him as soon as Taigas steps past the court's doors. Kuroko, the smooth bastard, just takes a step to the right and lets Kise continue his assault on him.

"How dare you?!" screams Kise as he pounds his fist into Taiga's chest and glares at him with all his might. "Two weeks, Kagamicchi! You ignored me for two whole weeks! I know you were sad because you lost to Aominecchi but that's all the more reason not to ignore me, I could've help!"

Taiga just winces, he knows he acted like a jerk towards both Kise and Midorima but at the time that had been the least of he's worries. He regrets that now.

"I know Kise," says Taiga as he pats the blonde's head, "I'm really sorry,"

"You better be!"

Taiga sighs, trying to pry Kise off of him and glances towards Kuroko for help but the look his flyer shoots him offer no assistance and just says _you're on your on,_ Taiga kind of deserves, if he's being honest wit himself.

"Really Kagami, what you did was very immature," Midorima says as he approaches him, Takao at his heels. The green-haired thrower is looking at him reproachfully but the glittery flower-hairclip he has fastened to the right side of his face kinds of diminishes the look. (It's actually not one of the weirdest lucky-items Taiga has seen.)

"Don't listen to him Kagami!" says Takao as he waves at him cheerfully, "Shin-chan is just mad because he got worried when you didn't respond to his e-mails."

"Don't be foolish Takao," says Midorima as he tries to hide his blush by shoving his glasses up his nose. "I was just writing you to inquire about a new technique I wanted to try out," says the green-haired thrower to Taiga for good measure. Taiga just grins at him.

"Now, Shin-chan you don't have to lie, we all know about your bro-crush on Kagami! It's perfectly nor-"

"Die Takao," mutters Midorima as he hits the shorter teen on the back of his head. The black-haired flyer stumbles on his feet and goes crashing towards Taiga. The redhead grabs him on instinct to prevent him from falling to the floor but seeing as Kise is still clinging to him the three of them end up in an awkward hug. Taiga sees the exact moment when Kise reaches that same conclusion because the blonde's eye light up like Christmas has come early and he instantly shouts, "GROUPHUG!"

Midorima flinches and tries to escape but Takao is faster. He grabs his thrower by the arm and pulls him into the hug just as Kise does the same for Kuroko. Taiga can't help but laugh, open and wild as he wraps his arms around all of them. This is so unbearably _cheesy_ but he's so happy right now that Taiga can't bring himself to care.

He hears a click and then the sound of a camera going off. He looks towards his left and sees Kise with his arm extended as he takes a photo of them with his cellphone. They all crowd together to get a look at it and it just makes Taiga laugh harder because the picture is _perfect_.

Midorima is frowning at all of them but no one misses the way his eyes are crinkled at the corners is obvious fondness. Takao is grinning so much his face looks like it might split in two as he holds onto Midorima's arm to prevent him from escaping. Kise is in the other side, smiling blindingly directly at the camera as he winks. Taiga is in the middle, arms encircling everyone and caught laughing. And then there's Kuroko who's looking up at the redhead with a soft smile curving his lips. Taiga's breath catches because when he looks to his left Kuroko is still wearing that same expression and he's so glad Kise managed to catch that on picture because Taiga doesn't ever want to forget it.

If that photo somehow becomes Taiga's new phone background, well, it's no one business but his.

(He's pretty sure it's Midorima's background too, so there, he's not the only sappy one here.)


	5. Chapter 5

The next Monday coach announces two summer training camps in preparation for what is now Taiga's and Kuroko's last chance to defeat the rest of the Generation of Miracles and Seirin's only shot at proving themselves the best squad in Japan. And also to _not_ confess to their crush naked, which now that Taiga has figured out that's Kuroko, has made him even more determined to win than ever – also known as the Winter Cup.

Their first camp is a three-day long trip to the beach, so come Friday the whole squad is up at the crack of dawn and on a bus heading towards the inn where they're staying before the rest of Tokyo even decides to crack an eye open. And because coach is on a particularly good mood and secretly a sadist she only gives them all ten minutes to drop their bags in their rooms and change into something more fitting for a day at the beach before she has them all running drills in the sand. Taiga, who has lived in LA for about ten years and trained under Alex, is no stranger to beach-training but Riko is _mean_ and _demanding_ and by the time she calls for a stop Taiga's legs ache and throb in near constant pain. In his defense, no one in the squad seems to be faring any better. They are all panting and heaving. Kuroko has all but given up - the blue-haired flyer is laying on the sand facedown and all of Furi's attempts at getting him to get up are futile.

Then she has them practice one of their old routines, the one they used against Seiho. It's a lot more reliant on ground floor moves than their other routines, which are based mostly on air-stunts and all the more difficult to perform because of it. The sand is flimsy under their feet and it's easy to loose their footing. Their handstands last barely half of what they normally would and their human pyramid crumbles after only a few seconds. The traction needed for a high jump is impossible to find and Taiga's calves weep after only a few jump sequences. With every failed move or interruption in the routine the squad gets more and more frustrated but coach just smiles and says _again_ without mercy. Like he said, _secret sadist_.

Taiga is chugging down a bottle of water during one of their breaks when coach approaches him and tells him to go and get more drinks for the squad. Taiga just nods in agreement as he accepts the money she hands him but as always with Riko, there's a catch _._

"Oh! Kagami-kun," comes Riko's deceptively sweet voice, which instantly puts Taiga on edge. "No using the sidewalk, okay? You have to run to the store in the sand." Taiga winces. Said store is about three miles out from where they're practicing and the sun is at its highest point right now. It's going to be a hell of a workout. Still, Taiga just nods. Then coach smiles, and _shit_ , but that smiled never bodes well for anyone. "And you have to get them one by one."

All color drains out of Taiga's face and he sees Kuroko giving him an apologetic _don't worry, I'll arrange your funeral_ look as Riko tells him to get a move on and pats him on the shoulder.

All Taiga can do is take a deep breath and run.

It takes him roughly _five hours of non-stop running under the unforgiving sun_ to get all the necessary drinks for the squad. By the time he's finished all he can do is face-plant in exhaustion right next to Kuroko, who's also on the verge of dying. It takes Kyoshi's and Hyuuga's combined efforts to scrape him off the sand. His legs are trembling and he has no doubt they will only hurt more tomorrow. Coach just smiles at him as she takes a sip from the lemon sparkling water Taiga bought for her on the second run because the redhead knows its her favorite and he'd been kind of hoping she'd go easy on him and let him get at least two drinks in each run. No such luck though.

Kuroko, the little shit (cute, but still a little shit, _alway_ s a little shit) smirks at him in amusement and laughs at his pain, though the exhaustion Taiga can see on his face makes the redhead only retaliate by bumping him with his shoulder. They are the last to get to the inn, seeing as neither of them can do more than trudge by this point. They stumble their way through the beach, shoulders close enough to touch and hands a breath away from brushing together just as the sun sets and Taiga would blush at how all of this looks if he could only summon enough energy.

Apparently, he still has enough energy to jump through the roof and flail in surprise as he and Kuroko round a corner in the inn and come face to face with Midorima and Takao, who are the middle of _sucking each other's faces off._

"GAAAH!" shouts Taiga. Immediately Midorima and Takao spring apart, but seeing as the green haired thrower had been holding Takao up against the wall, the grey-eyed flyer slides down to the floor and his head smack against the wall with a resounding _crack._

"What are you doing?" splutters Taiga while Kuroko tries to hold in his laughter. Midorima is blushing madly. His glasses are crooked to one side and the red of his cheeks clashes horribly against his green hair. Taiga sees Takao stand up as he rubs the back of his head and winces. The flyer comes to stand next to Midorima as he gives them a sheepish grin, although he doesn't seem embarrassed in the slightest. He's wearing a pale green shirt that has the phrase _cheer if you're queer_ written on it in big, bold letters and Taiga just _can't._ He's too fucking tired to deal with this kind of shit.

"Well you know Kagami," begins Takao with a sly smirk, "when two people like each other very much, it's normal for them to show that affection in a more physical way, say, like-"

"That wasn't what I meant!"

"Takao!"

Taiga isn't sure who's blushing harder now, him or Midorima. Taiga chances a look at Kuroko and sees the other boy smirking at him and _that_ question is answered pretty quickly as he feels his face burn even hotter in response.

"I meant what you are doing _here_ ," amends Taiga in an effort to steer the conversation to less embarrassing topics before Midorima dies of mortification. The green-haired thrower clears his throat as he right his glasses (he also slides a hand in one of Takao's and squeezes the flyer's fingers for a moment, but Taiga already feels like he has invaded enough of their privacy as it is, so he doesn't comment) before answering, "Shuutoku is having a training camp at the beach." Then his green eyes narrow, "what are _you_ doing here?"

"Seirin is here for a training camp too, Midorima-kun," responds Kuroko, face blank and not showing any signs of just having caught his friends in the middle of a make-out session, which, sure, Taiga had had his suspicions about the two of them. Yeah, he could be a bit dense but they hadn't been exactly subtle either - okay, he admits Kuroko had had to point it out to him but he _had_ been preoccupied with the Interhigh at that time. Takao had never bothered to hide his attraction to the thrower and he had constantly flirted with his green-haired teammate. Midorima had always been way more lenient with Takao than he had been with anyone else. The way he let the flyer closer to him and willingly spend time with the other even though he claimed Takao annoyed him to no end spoke for itself. Still, Taiga hadn't thought they would actually _do_ anything about it and if they did, he had _neve_ r expected he would find out this way.

"I see," says Midorima, "well then, I think it's time for me and Takao to rejoin the others-"

"What!?" Takao exclaims as he shakes his head and looks at his thrower –boyfriend now, Taiga guesses- with a kicked-puppy look he has obviously learned from Kise. "No way! I have so much to talk about with Tetsuya now that he knows we're together." Midorima's grimace is all Taiga needs to know that that is the _last_ thing the green-haired teen wants, but as always Kuroko decides to make his ex-teammates life more difficult than it already is.

"I agree with Takao-kun," says Kuroko, "there are quite a few things I would like to talk about with your boyfriend, Midorima-kun."

"But-"

"Yeah!" whoops Takao as he bounds up to Kuroko and takes the blue-haired flyer by the arm, "see ya later, Shin-chan!" Both flyers walk on without a backwards glance, leaving Taiga alone with a panicky Midorima. The redhead just pats the other thrower on the shoulder and tries to offer some comfort, "I'm sure it'll be fine, man."

"It's Kuroko we're talking about," says Midorima, an edge of desperation laced in his voice, "he _enjoys_ making me suffer, that's his favorite pastime and he's alone with _Takao_. Of course it won't be fine." Taiga just winces in sympathy; those two are a force to be reckoned with when they put their head to it. Still, Taiga thinks, it could be worse. He shuddered to think what could've happen if Kise had been here.

"Anyways…" begins Taiga, "congratulations I guess," Midorima just looks at him impassively before nodding in acknowledgement. "How long has this been going on?"

"About two weeks," says Midorima and there's something softer to his looks now as he remembers. "It's all fairly new. All of this is actually." Midorima is staring at something in the distance but now there's also a nervous tilt to his face. "I- I don't even know what I'm doing most of the time. I don't even know if it's right." It's almost a confession, the way Midorima says it and Taiga knows it's taken him a lot of courage to voice such thoughts.

"You'll be fine, Midorima," says Taiga as he drapes an arm over the green-haired teen's shoulders. He's shit at talking about feelings; even more so at giving advice about them, but for Midorima he can at least _try_. The green-haired thrower looks so distraught that if Taiga didn't try to help he would feel like a downright jerk.

"Despite of what I always tell you, you are not actually and idiot you know." Midorima shoots him a scathing look but Taiga barrels on before the other can interrupt him. "There's something my mom used to tell me that I always try to live by, if it doesn't hurt anyone, _always_ do the things you love and don't _ever_ apologize for it. I know you care about Takao, so you won't fuck this up." Here Taiga grins at Midorima and hits him lightly over the head, ruffling the green strands. "It's not like Takao would let you anyways."

That startles a laugh out of Midorima and he turns to look at Taiga, green eyes honest when he says, "thank you, Kagami. You have been… surprisingly helpful" Taiga just grins, glad to have been of some help, although the word surprisingly has not gone unnoticed, but Taiga will let the jab slide this time. Only this time though.

"What about you and Kuroko then?" Midorima asks and it's Taiga the one who startles this time as he tries to fight off a blush just at the mention of his flyer's name.

"What about me and Kuroko?" Midorima just rolls his eyes and says, "are you together now?" Taiga splutters and tries to keep a calm face even though inside he's close to panicking. "What gave you that idea, idiot!?" Oh god, he thinks, please don't let him be that obvious, _please._

"I know that you ah- that you harbor feelings for my ex-teammate," says Midorima and he's blushing again, although his blush has nothing on Taiga's, who winces at the implications that if someone who is as inept as him as far as social cues go has picked up on that fact, anyone else could have, "and I also know that he returns those feelings so I'm asking you why you haven't done anything about it. I didn't take you for a coward."

"He what?" Taiga thinks his heart's stopped beating altogether because there's _no way_ he heard that right now, did he? Midorima must be wrong. There's _no way_ Kuroko would _ever_ return his feelings. There's simply no way Kuroko would like him, not in the way Taiga wants him to at least. Not Kuroko, who is _so far_ out of Taiga's reach it isn't even funny. But - his minds whispers teasingly - but Midorima has proven to be observant before and he has known Kuroko since Middle School. He knows Kuroko better than most, so it could _mayb_ e be _possible_ that Kuroko _might_ indeed return his feelings.

But it's that shred of hope that hurts the most though, because up until now Taiga had only ever entertained the idea of Kuroko liking him back as a sort of idiotic fantasy that he left to daydreaming. But if Midorima is right, then _maybe_ he could- but no, thinks Taiga as he shakes his head in frustration, is better no to think about what ifs. He's just setting himself up for disappointment. Kuroko had acted like that almost-kiss back in his apartment had never happened and he had _never_ mentioned it again, not even in passing. There's no way Kuroko would have left something like that hanging in the air if he had returned his feelings. That incident was proof enough that this spark of hope was unfounded and completely futile.

"Please, Kagami," says Midorima and Taiga forces himself away from the whirlwind in his mind that's heading straight to a depressing end and makes himself looks at Midorima. "I have never seen Kuroko smiles as much as he does when he's with you and as far I've seen, you're the only person who has ever made him _laugh._ It's like he opens up with you, or rather, is more like he lets himself _feel._ You'd need to be an idiot not to see it." Midorima gives him a reproachful once over and adds, "then again you are one." Taiga scowls at him but it's mostly an automatic response to Midorima's scathing tone. The redhead is in deep though. The other thrower has given him a lot to think about, because maybe, _maybe_ \- he shakes his head again. It's far too late and he's far too tired to think about feelings. So he says goodnight to Midorima and they part ways at the end of the hallway, each heading for their own rooms.

When Taiga pushes the door open to Seirin's room and heads towards the corner he had claimed as his in the morning he spies Kuroko's pale blue mop of hair sticking over his futon and that spark of hope flares hot in his chest again, because maybe Midorima's right, maybe, _maybe_ \- but then his head hits the pillow and he's out like a light.

He'll deal with this when he's not exhausted.

Except that Taiga _doesn't_ deal with it because coach bangs their door open at five in the morning and has them all up and running drills in the sand before the sun has even begun to rise. And then there's breakfast where they meet the rest of Shuutoku and Taiga ends up having to wolf down his toast in under five minutes all while Midorima glares at Kuroko –obviously not very please with whatever the flyer told his boyfriend last night – leaving him with no time to think. And then coach shouts at them to get on with it and there's nothing more Taiga can do but obey. Then he's stuck running through the sand and delivering drinks all day because if there's something the redhead doesn't like to do, is do things halfway. So he ends up making double the amount of runs he did yesterday because if he's gonna buy Takao and Midorima a drink then he's gonna buy the _whole Shuutoku squad_ a drink too and by the time night comes Taiga is so exhausted he only has enough energy to drag himself to bed and crash.

The next day comes and goes exactly the same. At least it does for Taiga, who's now become friends with the stores cashier. The kind old man used to give him odd looks for coming every half an hour to buy the same drink but now only smiles at him and chatters on about everything and nothing while Taiga pays. And by the time Midorima confronts him about his jumping power and Taiga realizes just what coach was doing having him run around the beach like a maniac all day, all memories of the conversation he had with Midorima the first night of training camp have all but faded into a dream Taiga's sure he conjured up to feel better about his hopeless crush on Kuroko.

(Because as far as Taiga is concerned hope is the ugliest thing in the world and Taiga refuses to let himself believe for even a second that he could _ever_ be enough for Kuroko to return his feelings like he so hopes for and giving up now sounds far better than having his heart broken on the long run, so he let's the memory turn into a dream and then he makes himself forget it.

Hope is better crushed soon before it can hurt you too much. That's something he has learned through experience and he's not setting himself up for more pain, not when he can avoid it.

So he forgets.)

* * *

Seirin and Shuutoku end up traveling back in the same bus together since the one that was supposed to drive the Shuutoku squad back to their school malfunctions on the way to the beach and coach offers them a ride back with little to no prompting.

(Even though Taiga can't prove it and even though they were _miles_ away form the incident, the redhead still suspects both Kuroko and Takao from having played a part on the delay of the bus. Their smiles and the glint in their eyes are way to familiar for him not to be suspicious. When he mentions this to Midorima, the green-haired thrower just looks at him with a _were you really expecting anything less_ expression and Taiga knows Midorima has a point. He really should know better by now.)

He ends up sitting beside the green-haired thrower for the whole ride home because Kuroko and Takao had decided to sit together and continue their previous conversation. Taiga can't help but snort every time he sees Midorima stiffen when he hears the giggles that come form the row behind them, no doubt at his expense.

As soon as the car parks near a bus station both squads pile out in a hurry. Even though Taiga, Kuroko, Midorima and Takao may be friends, the same can't be said for the rest of their teammates. They are still rivals after all and the fact that Shuutoku won every match in their training camp has done nothing but remind Seirin of that, so it's understandable for everyone to want a bit of space after living in close quarters for three days. They're all about to head their own way when Kuroko's voice stops them all in their tracks.

"Kise-kun wants to know if we'll go see him cheer against Aomine-kun." Kuroko is looking at his phone, no doubt reading a text from Kise and Taiga grimaces because in the whole chaos of the camp he had completely forgotten that the Interhigh finals were yet to be played.

"That's right!" says Takao as he comes to stand beside Kuroko, "the finals are today right?" At Kuroko's nods Takao's grin widens and he instantly turns to look at Midorima. "Then let's go watch it! We need to show Ryota some support." Midorima sighs as he says, "must you refer to my ex-teammates with such familiarity?" The black-haired flyer just winks at him. "Ah Shin-chan, you don't have to be jealous, you know you're the only one for me!"

"Die Takao" responds Midorima curtly as he smacks him on the head and Taiga pretends he doesn't notice that the only reason Midorima pushes his glasses up is to cover his small, pleased smile.

"I still think we should go though," says Takao, completely undeterred by Midorima's glare. Taiga sees Kuroko nod and knows instinctively that the decision has already been made. "I agree with Takao-kun. What do you say Kagami-kun?" Taiga nods in agreement. Even though he's still bitter about having lost to Aomine and the sight of the dark-skinned teen is enough to make his blood boil he wouldn't miss the chance of seeing him getting his ass kicked by Kise for anything in the world. Besides, a match between Kaijou, Toou and their respective prodigies is bound to be interesting to watch.

"I say let's go cheer Kise on." Kuroko smiles at him while Midorima sighs in resignation and Takao whoops. And that's basically how to four of them end up sitting at the bleachers where the Interhigh finals are being held, accompanied by their whole squads, who grudgingly agreed to sit together after coach threatened Seirin with stamina training and some Shuutoku second year threated to hit them all with _pineapples_ of all thing.

The bickering between the two squads is worth it though, thinks Taiga when Kise spots their mismatched group and promptly erupts in shouts of joy and starts waving at them frantically. Taiga winces when he sees the blonde's captain, Kasamatsu, land a solid kick on Kise's back, sending the blonde crashing to the floor and scream at him so loudly that his voice carries all the way up to the bleachers. With those lungs it's really no surprise that Kasamatsu became the captain.

And then Toou's squad steps into the court and Taiga has to physically hold in a growl when he sees the asshole Aomine lazily makes his way over to Kise and say something to the blond that has him all but shaking in anger. All of Taiga's protective instincts rear up when he sees Aomine's dismissive wave in response to something that Kise says and it's only the way the blonde's body is tight with determination and Kasamatsu's defensive position at Kise's back that stops Taiga from climbing down and punching the jerk in the middle of his smug face.

A whistle blows shrill in the air and the judges call both captains forward for the coin toss. Kaijou wins but surprisingly decides to present their routine last, a decision that's not entirely unusual but not common either. Taiga has to wonder just why Kaijou would pass up the chance to surprise the judges first and avoid looking repetitive, especially when going up against Toou.

That question is answered pretty quickly though, because as soon as the music starts and Toou begins their routine Takao nudges him and points towards Kaijou's bench. And oh, thinks Taiga, shit just got _real_. Kise's eyes are trained on Aomine. The blonde's entire focus is on the other player, who's (admittedly) as incredible as ever. Aomine is tearing thought the court, jumping and twisting and turning everyway at breakneck speed. And Kise's is trying to _copy_ him. Taiga can see the change that comes over Kise as he starts to mimic Aomine's movements. The blondes' shoulders sag and his posture becomes more relaxed but there's an edge of tension and barely restrained energy to it that wasn't there just a few minutes ago. Taiga knew that Kise was able to copy someone movements and do them perfectly himself but this is _different_. This is not Kise copying just some movements. This is Kise trying to copy Aomine's whole _style_. And by the looks of it, he's succeeding too.

Kuroko takes in a sharp breath and Taiga turns to look at him. His whole body is tense and he's looking at Kise wide-eyed, like he can't even comprehend what's going on. Suddenly there's movement to his left and Taiga sees Midorima stand up. The thrower's face is pale and he's gripping the railing so hard his knuckles have turned white from the pressure. "No!" he shouts, "what are you doing, you idiot!?"

"Shin-chan?" comes Takao careful question as the flyer step closer to Midorima and slowly guides him back to his seat again. "What's going on?"

But Midorima is too distraught to answer, eyes fixed on Kise. Taiga really doesn't like this. Both Kuroko and Midorima are acting like Kise is going to commit suicide any minute now and it's really starting to make him nervous too. "Oh, Kise-kun, please don't do this…" murmurs Kuroko.

"Can somebody tell us just what the fuck is going on and what exactly are you two freaking out about?" demands Taiga.

"Kise-kun is trying to copy Aomine-kun's style of cheerleading," says Kuroko softly besides him, pale blue eyes never once leaving the court.

"Yeah, I kinda figured that out," grunts Taiga, "but that doesn't explain why you two are acting like the world is gonna end."

"Yeah," says Takao, who's looking at Midorima in worry, "isn't that what Ryota always does? Copy any player, I mean."

"That's the point, though!" exclaims Midorima as he turns to looks at both Taiga and Takao, green eyes alight with frustration. "Aomine is not just _any_ player. Kise has never been able to copy him before. The strain it puts on his body is too high. It can lead him to serious injury!"

"Midorima-kun is right," adds Kuroko. The look on his face is pinched in barely concealed worry. "The only time Kise-kun tried to copy Aomine-kun like he's trying to do now, he ended up in the hospital due to a muscle injury. His body was not able to handle the stress it took to cheer like Aomine-kun. After that, our captain forbade Kise-kun form trying anything like that again to keep him from hurting himself."

"Besides," says Midorima, "he's not at his full potential. He's already injured his leg and this can only make it worse. The idiot should know better!"

Taiga looks at Kise. The blond is still single mindedly watching Aomine, his copy almost completed. And even though Taiga fears what could happen to the blond and even though he wants to head over there and kick his ass for being so stupidly reckless, he can also understand that nothing is going to stop Kise from going through with this. Not Taiga, not his teammates –former or new – and certainly not the possibility of injury. Taiga can see in Kise's whole demeanor that all the blonde can think about is how to get himself and his team one step closer to victory.

"Aomine-kun was the reason Kise-kun started cheering," say Kuroko, tone soft and somewhat bittersweet, "but he has never been able to win against him even _once_ since he started, this is more personal to Kise-kun than just winning the Intherhigh."

"He wants to prove himself to Aomine, doesn't he?" says Taiga, "he thinks that by beating the asshole he'll finally catch up to the rest of you miracles." Kuroko looks at him, blue eyes impossibly sad and nods once. "Yes, Kagami-kun. I think that's exactly what's going through Kise-kun's mind right now."

"What do you mean catch up to the miracles?" asks Takao, looking confused, "he's already considered a prodigy, he's just as good as you." The flyer says to Midorima but the green-haired thrower just sighs in response. "We know that, but Kise has always felt weaker than the rest of us, no matter how many times we try to tell him otherwise."

Down on the court Toou's routine reaches its end and the public erupts in thunderous applause. Taiga doesn't pay it any mind, though. He watches as Kise stands up, posture a perfect copy of Aomine's and makes his way to the center of the court. "What can we do then?" asks Takao almost desperately but Kuroko just looks at him sadly, "we wait and hope for the best, Takao-kun. That's all we can do for now."

Taiga forces himself to look at Kaijou as the music begins and they start to dance. He immediately notices the change. Kise's running faster than before. He's jumping higher and seamlessly merging Aomine's cheerleading style to his own routine.

The result is breathtaking. Kise's copy combined with Kaijou at its full power is making jaws drop all across the bleachers. What's even more amazing though, is seeing what a power like Aomine's could do when joined with that of a squad. Because as amazing as Aomine can be he has never cheered as one with his teammates – it hadn't escaped Taiga's noticed that the asshole hadn't chanted once or even opened his mouth to shout during Toou's whole performance – but Kise _is_ a team player and he's using Aomine's skill set to bring out the best of his team members. He use his skills to highlight the other's abilities instead of overwhelming them and all Taiga can do is stare. The sheer feeling he gets out of watching them makes him numb from shock, and _oh_ , he thinks, _this is what cheerleading is all about._

But then Kise stumbles. It's hardly noticeable really, just a landing a little to out of course but Taiga sees how the three other cheerleaders beside him stiffen because that's always the first sign of exhaustion when cheering and it's _worrying_. Kaijou is barely past the middle of their routine and Kise's stamina is already running out.

And then Kise slips and it's only thanks to Kasamatsu's quick reflexes that the blonde doesn't fall. People are starting to notice something's off now. Kise's speed is diminishing at a steady pace and he's panting so hard it looks almost painful. But even so to blond pushes on, ignoring his teammates worried glances as he continues to cheer and smile like everything is fine when it's clearly _not._ Then the music swells, the tempo quickening as the routine comes to its highpoint and the public holds it's breath in anticipation. Kasamatsu and another squad member throw Kise up in the air and the blonde _flies,_ doing backflips and twists and stunts Taiga doesn't recognize, clearly a copy of Aomine's formless ones. Then he lands, steady on his feet, position perfect and smile binding as Kaijou raise its voice and Taiga breathes a sigh of relief. Too early, apparently, because just as Kise prepares for a jump sequence, just as he begins to run, Kise _falls._

The blonde goes crashing down to the floor, heaving and sweating and cursing all at once and Taiga's heart clenches at the sight. Kaijou breaks form as they all crowd around Kise and gasps and shouts of surprise fill the gym as the music comes to an abrupt stop.

A medic comes running from the other side of the court and makes her way over to Kise. As Kaijou parts to give her space, Taiga spots the blonde half-lying on the ground as he holds his right leg in his arms. Kasamatsu is beside him, talking to Kise quietly as the medic checks him over and then points towards her left to a bench, instructing the captain to bring Kise over, Taiga guesses. He lets himself breath again because if the medic trusts Kise to be able to stand – even if needs help - then the injury can't be as serious as the redhead first thought. But before Kasamatsu can comply Aomine is suddenly there, blocking their way, a lazy smirk etched on his face as he talks down at the blond and says something that Taiga doesn't hear over the commotion. He doesn't need to because Kise's reaction is enough to tell him that whatever it was the other said, it's another thing to add to Taiga's growing list of reason why he needs to punch Ahomine is the fucking face. Kise's shoulder shake for a moment as he stares at Aomine, gold eyes wide, full of hate and anger and resignation before he turns to hide his face in the crook of Kasamatsu's neck as the captain glares at Aomine.

Taiga is up and running before he makes the conscious decision to do so. He barrels down the stairs in a flurry as he shouts at people to get out of his way. By the time he reaches the court the bastard and the rest of Toou are already gone, though Taiga thinks he spots Momoi's pink hair somewhere near the door. Taiga makes his way over to Kise and Kasamatsu, who are still sitting on the ground as Kaijou makes a defensive wall around them. One of them tries to stop Taiga as he comes closer but the redhead snarls at him and the other backs off quickly after that. He looks at Kasamatsu for a second, silently asking him for permission to approach. If there's someone that Taiga knows Kise trusts apart from Takao, himself and his ex-teammates, is this guy, the overly violent, trigger-happy senpai who Kise just can't shut up about. So he waits till Kasamatsu nods at him before crouching down next to Kise and laying a hand over his shoulders.

"Hey now, bottle blond," says Taiga, "what are you crying about?"

Kise turns to look at him, gold eyes red-rimmed, "don't joke about this Kagamicchi." Kise's voice is so full of frustration and anger that it makes Taiga pause for a second, "I lost. _Again_ ," cries the blond. "No, it's even worse than that. I made _my whole team lose_! I will never be able to beat him. I'll _never_ be as good as the rest of them." Kasamatsu frowns down at Kise, a fierce scowl making his way up his face and Taiga sees his arms tighten around the blonde.

"Don't be an idiot, idiot," says the captain harshly although not unkindly as Kise turns to look at him. "How many times have I told you that the world does _not_ revolve around you? You think that you are the only thing keeping this squad together? That if you perform badly that will automatically make us all lose? Don't be so self-centered! Everyone in Kaijou plays their part!"

Kise looks at Kasamatsu in astonishment and his voice is barely above a breath when he whispers, "you don't blame me for losing the tournament?" The tentative question just makes Kasamatsu scowl even harder. "Of course I don't, you dumbass! And if someone ever says something like that to you, you come tell me so I can set them straight."

Kise stares at the captain for a moment longer before he cries out, "senpai!" and throws himself back at Kasamatsu, who scowls down at him at him but ruffles his blond his hair nonetheless. "C'mon now, the medic said to get you to the bench so you can rest." The captain stands up and hauls Kise up, but he stumbles for a moment under the added weight so Taiga takes a few steps towards them and throws Kise's other arm over his shoulder. He and Kasamatsu carry the blond over to the bench and plop him down as the medic comes over again and looks at Kise with a stern look. "You've stretched your leg muscles, so there's no cheerleading for two weeks at least, you got me?"

Kise looks like he's about to protest so Taiga smacks him across the head just as Kasamatsu does the same and both their hands connect with the blonde's head at the exact same time, the resounding _thud_ enough to shut Kise up. Kasamatsu gives him an appraising look and Taiga grins in response, his liking of the captain kicking up another notch. Kise just looks at them both in a mix of horror and betrayal.

There's a commotion somewhere to their left and the three of them turn to look that way. Midorima, Takao and Kuroko are trying to fight their way trough what appears to be the whole of Kaijou. The regular squad, the reserve players, _and_ their three managers are all standing shoulder to shoulder, forming a wall that's keeping anyone from getting to Kise.

Taiga sees Midorima growl something at one of them and he hears a shout of _I've had enough of you damned Miracles, I'm not letting any of you close to Kise_ in response _._ Out of the corner of his eyes he sees Kise smile, soft and warm as Kasamatsu shouts at his team to let them trough. Begrudgingly, Kaijou lets the three pass. Quicker than thought Midorima is hovering over Kise as he asks for updates on the blonde's injury almost frantically, all while frowning down at him and calling him an idiot. Takao is right beside Kise, chattering on about everything and nothing, startling a few surprised laughs out of the blond who's slowly beginning to relax. Kuroko is a silent presence beside the blond. The blue-haired flyer has a hand over Kise's shoulder as he listens to Takao and always offers Kise a smile when the blonde turns to look at him. Kasamatsu is looking at the five of them with a bewildered but thoughtful look as he watches them all interact, and Taiga can't help but laugh at how this all must seem to the captain. A bunch of mismatched cheerleaders with weirdly colored hair that don't seem to fit together but still _do_ somehow.

And, when Kise's two-week long medical rest is over and the blonde shows up to their usual extra practice, smiling wider than normal with a grumpy-looking Kasamatsu in tow, no ones can say they are particularly surprised to see the captain there.

* * *

Kasamatsu becomes a regular at their daily training behind Maji Burger and, being the only third year amongst all of them, he immediately takes over the roll of squad mother because Kuroko's immunity to Kise's hurt-puppy look had decreased notably after the Interhigh finals and it was far easier now to get the blue-haired flyer to agree to go along with the rest of them. So the Kaijou captain takes it upon himself to remind them all to take breaks every now and then and he always makes sure to keep any of them from outpacing themselves. It is, thinks Taiga, almost perfect.

 _Almost_ being the keyword, because Kasamatsu had gotten over his uncertainty about how to treat Taiga, Takao, Kuroko and Midorima pretty quickly and slipped into his _everyone younger than me is still my kohai, different schools my ass_ mentality and soon enough he was kicking them all into shape when he thought they were being disrespectful. Well, he kicked mostly just Taiga, Takao and Kise since Kuroko was always respectful and unfailingly polite and Midorima's standoffish nature still made the captain hesitate when dealing with the green haired thrower, although the latter didn't last very long.

"For the last time Midorima," says a red-face Kasamatsu to the taller teen, "training is over so get your ass out of the court before I drag you out myself!" The green-haired thrower just stares down at Kasamatsu stubbornly and refuses to move.

"Maji Burger opens till 10 pm and we still haven't managed to perfect the last stunt so I see no reason for why you insist on stopping," says Midorima.

Midorima's words only make Kasamatsu grow angrier though. The captain takes a few threatening steps closer to the younger teen. Out of the corner of his eyes Taiga sees Kise waving frantically at Midorima to stop. The blond points a finger towards his captain, then towards the green-haired thrower and then he brings it to his neck and makes a slicing motion in a clear indication of what's going to happen to the other if he doesn't stop. Taiga can't help but agree with Kise when he sees Kasamatsu frown harder at Midorima's refusal to stop training, a vein throbbing in his forehead.

"You have no right to tell me what to do," says Midorima haughtily and Taiga cringes in unison whit Kise and Takao - who's looking at his boyfriend like it's the last time he'll ever see him. Taiga can't really blame him, with how Kasamatsu's glaring at Midorima it's a miracle that the prodigy isn't already six feet under. Kuroko just smiles in anticipation and looks on in what Taiga suspects it's actual _glee_.

"Why you little…!" says Kasamatsu as he advances on Midorima menacingly. The Kaijou captain grabs Midorima by the scruff of his shirt and brings his face at level with his own furious one. "Learn to show some respect for you upperclassmen, especially when they're only looking out for you, you ungrateful idiot!"

Kasamatsu shakes the green haired teen hard as the other flails in surprise and looks at them for help. Taiga and the other three take a step back in unison, none of them are willing to get in the middle of this. Taiga has already seen what Kasamatsu's anger can do and he's not willing to go though that again, not even for Midorima. "Don't think I haven't notice your legs shaking Midorima, you're exhausted and you've got another thing coming if you think I'm going to let any of you get hurt under my watch." Kasamatsu growls and turns a wide-eyed Midorima around and says, "so form now on you listen to me and you show me the respect I deserve!"

And then the captain lands a solid kick on the green-haired thrower's back, which makes to other go tumbling towards Takao, who grabs him at the last second while he tries to rein in his laughter at Midorima's flustered face.

There's a bit of an awkward silence as Midorima rights himself again and adjust his glasses but then the green-haired miracle turns towards Kasamatsu and actually _bows_ as he murmurs, "I'm sorry, senpai. It won't happen again." Kasamatsu just grumbles at him but pats him on the shoulder as he goes past him to kick Kise for laughing too much.

Taiga breaks down then and begins cracking up too because he never thought he'd see the day when Midorima actually _apologized_ to anyone, nevertheless call anyone senpai. He spots Kuroko smiling at his side and he hears a _don't worry Shin-chan, this isn't the worst I've seen you do_ in the background and he can't help but laugh harder at Midorima's answering groan of despair.

And so Taiga settles into his new routine – this time with an added member to their (now official) table at Maji Burger and resolves himself to focus all his efforts on training for the rapidly approaching Winter Cup. The only thing on his mind right now is school and cheerleading practice (and the occasional daydream about what kissing Kuroko would feel like, but he does his best to forget about that) so he's understandably blindsided when he encounters Tatsuya playing babysitter for a purple–haired giant of all things.

He is honestly so done with the Generation of Miracles by this point.


End file.
